Anthracite Range

A large collapse and shooting cracks in steep terrain were the most notable observations from the day.  The slab that formed post-Christmas is 2 to 3 feet thick in sheltered areas and up to 1 finger hard.  I suspect feedback like collapsing would be relatively infrequent before a large avalanche is triggered.  We kept to relatively conservative terrain, less than 35 degrees, and found the best riding conditions of the year.

We saw a few tiny Storm Slabs on very steep northerly terrain. Crowns were just a few inches thick and covered by an inch of new snow. By the time we moved through similar terrain, we didn't experience any cracking. We experienced a single booming collapse and shooting cracks on east terrain near 11,200 feet.

We dug a test profile (northeast slope, 10,600 feet) adjacent to a profile from 1/1 to see how the weak layer is behaving with a larger slab.  Test results produced an ECTP 17 below the Christmas crust with a 75 cm slab up to 1 finger hard above (see image).  We walked around in a few undisturbed areas looking for feedback and collapsing; we produced a single large collapse and shooting cracks at the entrance to East Bowl, but the slope did not slide.

Poking around on the sunny side of the ridge revealed a stack of soft, lightly faceted snow and melt/freeze crusts.  I didn't encounter a slab so no profile.  There certainly is enough weak snow and soft crusts to be problematic if a slab were encountered, but it doesn't seem to fit a 'most likely' place to find a problem.