Weather
- Cloud Cover
- scattered
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 20
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Winds were moderate out of the southwest with gradually clearing skies.
Snowpack
We travelled in generally sheltered terrain today and observed ~20cm of Fist hardness new snow and no obvious signs of instability.
A quick pit at 9,000 feet on a north aspect showed propagation on a layer of buried surface hoar down 50cm (ECPT 15 x 2). The overlying slab was soft (F progressing towards 4F). This setup is not widespread, as surface hoar is spotty in its distribution. This layer has been loaded gradually over the last 10 days, with a quick hitting storm delivering the most recent snow today. As this layer continues to get gradully loaded and stressed, expect avalanche activity to increase in time with loading. In areas that hold a combination of well preserved surface hoar or facets sitting below stiffer slabs than what we observed in this location today, it will be more likely to trigger avalanches ranging from 1-3 feet thick.