Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The red flag conditions I was encountering today were up along the exposed ridge lines where moderate to strong southwest winds were blowing and drifting quite sensitive wind slabs just off the ridge lines. </p>
My travels took me along one of the higher ridge lines in Humpy Creek where north facing slopes were getting wind deposited snow from moderate to strong southwest winds. Some of these shallow new slabs were quite sensitive and could be triggered just by walking along the ridge line. These wind slabs were falling on weak surface snow which made them very reactive.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>I was not expecting the newly developed wind slabs to be quite as sensitive as I encountered along one of the higher Humpy Creek ridge lines. I was able to trigger shallow wind slabs from a distance just by walking along the ridge. The dense wind blown snow is falling on weak surface snow.</p> <p>It does not look like the storm will bring much in the way of new snow, but gusty winds might overload some of the shallow weak snow pack areas where some weak layers are found in the middle of the pack.</p>
The shady north facing slopes still have some nice dense settled powder, while a melt freeze crust was found on some of the south facing slopes.