Peagravel Ridge

Today a partner and I toured up to a high point at 6100' on Peagravel Ridge. Sheltered pockets below tree line on western aspects, ridgelines, and eastern aspects below ridgelines held wind slabs (4F density) that were reactive under my ski on the skin track. The wind slabs failed on different layers, some as deep as the 12/27 crust (45cm from the surface). The wind slabs were denser (1F) and stubborn at tree line and in more exposed areas on western, ridgeline, and eastern aspects. We began our descent back down the ridge at noon and by then snow on solar aspects had gotten wet and the snow in the trees was melting and dripping. Ski quality varied immensely depending on the surface snow conditions. We also observed heavy wind transport on the upper mountain, notably above the Wy'east face and Cooper Spur. Barely covered near surface obstacles are still present at lower elevations. My partner and I dug a pit at 5100' on an E aspect. We found the height of snow at this location to be 285cm. We found the Solstice Crust 140cm above ground and the 12/27 Crust 240cm above ground. We performed a shovel tilt test, which resulted in a failure on isolation on a layer of preserved stellar dendrites above the 12/27 crust. The snow above it was not cohesive but it fractured on a planar surface. We then performed a Compression Test, which highlighted multiple instabilities within the recent storm snow since 12/27. None of these layers propagated in an ECT.

Quick report