Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2499 m
- Slope Angle
- 26°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>I was surprised that we did not see more obvious signs of instability such as cracking and collapsing. Prior to this most recent series of storms, surface snow in this area was quite weak and faceted. We looked for these clues on test slopes and cornices with no real results. </p>
Snowpit was in a particularly thin area, which could make it less than representative. There were also some shrubs at the bottom of the snow pit that could have influenced our test results.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>We found preserved facets from before this most recent series of storms in our snow pit. These combined with a new snow load are problematic. </p> <p> </p> <p>In addition, the snowpack in this area is thin and basal facets could still be an issue. </p>
Snow surface both today and yesterday was relatively dense. Winds during the storm packed snow together a bit. Snow was more dense in open areas than in protected trees.