Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- Collapsing
- specific
Toured up the west ridges of Marmot to assess post-storm conditions. The plan was to travel to approximately 3,800 ft and dig a snowpit to evaluate stability and structure. During the ascent, numerous loud whumpfs and shooting cracks were observed. At 3,400 ft, a very large and audible collapse occurred with a shooting crack propagating uphill above my position (see photos), prompting me to stop. A snowpit at this location revealed a 15 cm wind slab over 25 cm of medium-density snow, underlain by a persistent weak layer consisting of approximately 20 cm of facets. Given the widespread wind effect, active collapsing, and poor snow structure, I decided conditions did not justify traveling or skiing higher. The risk outweighed the reward, as conditions above were expected to be similarly variable and undesirable wind slab skiing. Afterwards, made a lap up Marmot’s southwest ridge from the 16 Mile parking lot to the paragliding launch to meet up with a friend. Similar snow conditions were encountered, though slopes appeared less reactive. Despite this, skiing quality remained poor.