Whumpf! There it is.

We managed to climb above the valley cloud today on McBride Peak. We were excited for the sun and 25cm of fresh snow but constant shooting cracks and large whumpfs (the audible sound a a weak layer collapsing across an area!) while traveling up quickly reminded us to be cautious right after a storm. The weak layer in question is a buried layer of surface hoar down 35-45cm. Our extended column test propagated all the way across on the 21st tap (our first hard tap) demonstrating this layer’s potential for larger avalanches. This problem was most prevalent at tree line where this surface hoar was buried deeply and sheltered from winds. We also checked out the alpine and found shallower cracking in new wind slabs.