Hot Cement on Loose Cornflakes

<p>It was "whumpfy" and super hot in the Nordstrom area of the South Rockies this afternoon. We could hear loose wet avalanches coming down all day and saw evidence of numerous naturally triggered slides. Breaking trail was like wading through wet cement piled on loose cornflakes and we had huge settlements and shooting cracks with almost every step at times. The snowpack consisted of a saturated layer of mushy "isothermal" snow on top of weak sugary depth hoar and facets on the ground. With temperatures at treeline a balmy 8.5C it was a day better suited to suntanning and beverages on your deck than skiing which could only be described as worse than terrible. </p>

Terrain Avoided

Steep slopes.

Avalanche Conditions

Rapid temperature rise to near zero degrees or wet surface snow.

Slab avalanches today or yesterday.

Whumpfing or drum-like sounds or shooting cracks.

Snow Conditions

Heavy.

Weather Conditions

Warm, Sunny.