Palmer Snowfield

 Today, my observation was limited to 7,200 feet due to poor weather and visibility. During the ascent, I was able to trigger wind slabs and produce shooting cracks on the 1/24 rain crust while on small test slopes. In shallow depressions, where the wind had moved the snow into soft slabs, I found decent ski quality. However, until my ski edges were either cutting through soft snow or rattling over the 1/24 rain crust, it was impossible to visibly discern one surface texture from the other. As I returned to treeline, the overall uniformity of the snow surface improved but the snow surface also became wetter and heavier the more I descended.

Wet and stormy conditions prevented me from digging a pit today. However, I did not need to use my shovel to identify the development of wind slabs. I observed that leeward slopes had wind slabs that were up to 10 inches thick. I found that the wind slabs were sensitive to human triggers and propagated on the 1/24 rain crust.