Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Widespread Loose Dry avalanches on slopes 35 degrees and greater with upper 10 cm moving easily. Poor Snowpack structure evident from 7000 up to at least 8000. There is now a crust/facet/crust sandwich as a result of the rain and warm weather this past week. See picture that illustrate a pair of 3 mm to 4 mm crusts sandwiching 8 cm of developing facets. This recipe will have to be monitored once we receive any new loading, and the potential for collapse failure and a propensity for propagation may come into play. </p> <p>Of note, challenging riding conditions exist from 8000 feet down in many locations where rock hard "clinkers" are strewn across many slopes. </p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Large and dangerous cornices continue to be something to respect and allow for wide margins for safe travel. </p> <p>Loose Dry as described above were the only other avalanche problems encountered today. As we receive light amounts very light density snow for the next few forecast segments this issue will remain something to manage carefully. In any terrain features where any moving debris can accumulate, caution may be prudent. </p>
Despite the cold temperatures the mid February sun has enough punch to adversely effect the southerlies when they have a slope angle of 20 degrees and greater. Sustained cold weather has allowed for a combination of early SH growth as well as NSF-ing. New snow from this latest event has settlement rates of at least 30%. Fortuneately the facet crust sandwich that was observed up to 8000 feet is actually easy to ride, and it sounds like zipper releasing as you ride through it and into buried softer snow layers.