Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The winds were the big red flag today, even with somewhat high desity snow it was still being moved around creating some very touchy wind slabs. Seemed like as the afternoon went on the slab got a bit stiffer and I had a few decent rumbling collapses and cracking within the new snow.</p>
Some touchy wind slabs today where the near surface faceted snow is preserved under the recent snow and wind. This wind slab broke as I was about 50' away on a little test area I like to visit to see what the winds are doing. I was a bit surprised to find this weak layer still preserved in such a windy location.
A bit of a refresh with new snow around the 6/8-10" in Gold Hill. I was still feeling old tracks and with flat light it was a bit underwhelming out in the open areas. In the tress and more protected places the conditions were pretty decent, although the snow was beginning to take on a little heat and get damp and sticky.
This storm did not do much at all around the trailhead and conditions around 8,300' are still kind of thin.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Found some touchy wind slabs, but it appeared they needed to be resting on the old weak snow surface where it was preserved. Out in more open areas I did not experience quite the sensitivity, but still lots of cracking and collapsing within the new snow.</p> <p>Not sure this storm really put enough stress on the snowpack to activate the persistent weak layer buried near the bottom of the pack, but the old weak snow surface prior to this recent storm where it is preserved is creating some unstable conditions. </p>
Seems like the new snow from the weekend storm was in the range of 6-10" depending on where you were in Gold Hill. On the ridgelines the snow was pretty worked from strong winds, while in sheltered places the medium to high density snow helped fill in some old tracks and improve the riding and turning.