Quick report
I did not experience any signs of instability. I avoided terrain harboring a wind-drifted slab overlaying weak facets. I was surprised not to see any wet loose while travelling on solar terrain. I was off of sunny slopes by 1:15 pm.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 48
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Calm winds and clear skies. Winds bumped up to light out of the west at ridgetop. Toured in a T-shirt most of the day.
Snowpack
I wanted to check out high-elevation solar terrain and the structure these dwindling pockets may hold.
- In a hole at 11,200' on a southeast aspect, I found the snowpack to be moist to the ground.
- Free water was moving its way down and pooling on multiple layers of ice.
- While ascending, the surface of the snow began to soften at 12,200' around 1 pm.
- The height of the snow in an isolated couloir was nearing a meter at its deepest. As I descended into more sun-exposed terrain, the depth diminished rapidly.
- Overall, the structure was entirely different from any of the other slopes I travelled on. I received no results in an extended column test. ECTX
The rest of the terrain I travelled on was a mix of:
- Cohesionless facets in shady pockets protected by the wind. I found an average height of snow in these locations to be 30-50cm below 10,500'.
- Stiff (pencil to knife hard) wind board over weak facets in places exposed to the wind. The height of snow was variable and inconsistent.
- Dry ground.