Spring Onions

<p>Monday we checked out conditions after the weekend's storm at the Onion. We saw several size 1 to 2 storm slab avalanches that were about 24-48 hours old. These avalanches were in steep E and NE facing terrain. We found approximately 15cm of new snow that had been redistributed by SW winds. Surface conditions were wind affected but we were able to find good sledding in sheltered areas. We dug on E and SE facing slopes at 1650m and found 15cm new snow overlying old wind slab, and then a layer of facets (weak, sugary grains) anywhere from 25cm to 40cm below the surface. This layer is reactive to moderate loads on Compression Tests (CTM 13 down 25cm BKN, CTM 15 down 35cm RP) and produced one propagating Extended Column Test result (ECTP 30 down 40cm) with heavy loads. We’ll be keeping an eye on these facets… </p>

Terrain Ridden

Alpine slopes, Mellow slopes, Open trees, Steep slopes, Sunny slopes.

Snow Conditions

Powder, Wind affected.

Weather Conditions

Sunny, Windy.