Quick report
We toured to the ridge today, and found more of the same mess of snow surfaces. Many slopes kissed by the wind held a stiff, thin wind board; on others, more sheltered from the wind, we found a thin drizzle/fog crust that formed this weekend. We did not find any instabilities like snowpack cracking or collapsing. In quick hand pits, the recent snow below wind and rain crusts has broken down and begun to facet. Probing on various slopes, we found a relatively deep snowpack, greater than about 3' deep. On the edges of wind-affected ribs, the snowpack was thinner, but mostly lacked a slab/weak layer combo above the ground.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
Clear skies, calm to light SW winds. We watched this incoming front move towards the mountains this afternoon from Turners (see photo).
Avalanche
- Size
- D1 R2
- Aspect
- SW
- Elevation
- 3500 ft
We observed a few small wind slab avalanches in steep terrain in Eldorado Bowl. Additionally, we saw what may have been a recent slide on Marmot; we did not remember seeing this slide yesterday. Based on the location, it isn't a stretch that this was skier-triggered.