Quick report
- Red Flags
- Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Rapid warming on south faces were more of a concern at upper elevations than I had expected they would be today. We still have poor structure on</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>This is not going away any time soon. Although we didn't dig any pits or trigger anything related to this layer today this problem will take weeks if not longer to heal. Continue to give avalanche terrain a lot of respect where this problem is present.</p> <p>Todays second problem was wet snow. Upon our exit to the summer rd in grizzly gulch the W slopes had heated and shed roller balls as well. With temperatures forecasted to be much colder tonight and tomorrow we can expect this to go away. </p>
We noted a variety of snow surfaces today. North aspects held cool powder and rode well, though we continued to stay out of avalanche terrain on the dark side. South aspects up to 10500 were damp and producing wet avalanches. These were characterized by point releases from cliff bands and exposed rocks in steep terrain. One notable slide pictured below occurred sometime between 11a and 2p. Though it didn't hit the skin track it could pack a punch and avalanches like these should not be ruled out with warm temps and direct sun even when they are not our primary avalanche problem. Beware of what is above and below you! These damp surfaces will freeze overnight leaving a new crust to potentially deal with.