Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Below 6,000 feet the largest concern is wet avalanches. There was a foot of snow all the way down to 4,600 feet and many rollerballs. Above 6,000 feet we did not find any major concerns on south facing slopes. East and north facing slopes appeared to be wind loaded and we did not observe and westerly aspects. We did not investigate any deeper problems on north or east facing runs. South facing slopes seemed stable and our pit confirmed this, but north and east facing slopes had obvious wind loading. Traversing the top of one north facing run produced a shooting crack in the wind slab but this was an isolated incident. Variable wind loading would be my biggest concern.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 16
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 6,000
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
It was snowing lightly, mostly graupel, and there were moderate wind gusts. The air temperature was surprisingly low at 8,500ft, -9C, especially given the graupel precipitation. It was above freezing below 6,000ft and the sun came out for a few hours in the late afternoon.
Snowpack
The pit we dug on a south facing slope at 8500ft was very upright and stable. An ECT test produced several non-propagating failures in the new snow layer (ECTN9-150, ECTN11-145, ECTN13-137, ECTN18-133, ECTN25-120), so something to keep in mind but it should settle quickly. North facing slopes had evidence of wind loading and large cornices overhung east facing slopes. The snow was soft and skied well above 6,000ft. Below that 6,000ft, there was a rain crust and as the day warmed it became heavy and difficult to ski.