Quick report
Went up to upper elevations on Angle to continue tracking snow structure on Togwotee. While we did see some of the biggest depth hoar that I've seen anywhere this season (4-6mm), it did not correlate to a weak snowpack or a propensity to propagate. We dug at 10,050' on a north aspect where the snow height was 112cm (44 inches). We got 2 ECTX results here. It is a great example of a situation in which poor structure does not correlate to a weak snowpack. Basal facets were about 80cm below the surface here but are "shielded" by a 1 finger slab.
Continue to assess slopes that hold a shallower snowpack where you could more easily impact this weak snow near the ground.
We got snow heights up to 170 cm (67 inches) on north facing terrain between 9,600 and 10,000'. Southerly slopes hold considerably less, particularly below 9000 feet.
Very localized and short cracking in wind-stiffened surfaces in exposed areas above 9500 feet.Weather
- Air Temp
- -8 F at the car
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 5
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Snowpack
A few inches of new snow from the last 48 hours is hiding crusts on sunny slopes and faceted snow that developed during the last couple of weeks of dry weather. I did not see much buried/preserved surface hoar under the new snow where we travelled when I would occasionally brush through the new snow to look, but it would not surprise me to find some, especially in very sheltered areas. In areas exposed to the wind, there has been some snow blown around, but recent snow remains mostly soft with very shallow, small, and sluggish wind slabs on lee aspects below ridges.