Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Not much in the red flag department other than the continued weak snow pack, some very isolated collapsing and some minor wind loading this afternoon. </p>
It felt like the hazard has dropped to the moderate level, but with the right combination of steep, thin and rocky terrain or a heavly wind loaded slope, it is still possible to trigger an avalanche.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>I was getting very mixed results with snowpit tests, a few compression tests were failing in the 13-15 taps from the elbow with some energy still in the slab, but Extended Column Tests had no results and the column would just mash down. I think given the right snow pack set-up and terrain, a person could still trigger an avalanche, but it is a "pockety" hazard. </p> <p>Some minor wind slabs were forming today, mainly on east facing slopes. I was not finding these to be much of an issue yet, but could be more troublesome with continued winds and an approaching storm. </p>
Weak surface snow and some mixed in wind and rime crusts were found in my travels today. The riding and turning conditions are quite variable, I was finding limited supportable snow with many areas punchy and basically riding on the ground. Some riders have been getting into steeper terrain, but many big slopes have been untouched.