Quick report
- Red Flags
- Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Cracking, collapsing, poor structure - well, sorta. Let me explain my thoughts - cracking & collapsing from a single wind pillow 10,200 northwest facing. Cracked out 40', failing on basal facets in a thinner previously scoured area. Photo below. Regardless, it's a bellwether. For 'poor structure', I'd call it weak snow but not unstable snow- still need that heavy snow/wind...as this has been well documented elsewhere. </p>
Snowpack
5" low density snow sitting on variable, unconnected pencil hard 2-3" wind crusts. Thin, friable rain/rime crusts noted below this up to ~9500'. Total depths 1-2' w mid-elevation facets still waiting for a load. Upper elevations still weak in the mid-pack and in the basement. Upper few inches more variable with thin hard wind crust (new snirt layer) sandwiches with weakness noted between. Perhaps it'll be particularly tricky in some ways with the early season spatial variability. On the other hand, it won't be tricky at all. With great complexity, the old adage "Don't try to outsmart the snowpack" comes in to play.