Quick report
Our AIARE 2 class concluded in Crawford Notch today. We found stable conditions on the lower half of Willey’s Slide, as well as Little Willey’s. We then visited Frankenstein Cliffs, skinning through the recently burned forest to the base of the South Face. Frankenstein also harbored stable conditions, though there was evidence of avalanches triggered by icefall. The fallen ice debris prevented us from enjoying the primo line, but we skied through the trees nonetheless. Below the south face we practiced several snow pit observations. Included in this was a propagation saw test. Our result was that a fracture propagated to the end of the 100cm column, but only after dragging the saw through the weak layer for 95cm. The weak layer tested was a thin layer of facets down 40cm. Overall, we had a fun weekend in the MWAC forecast area thanks to an excellent group of dedicated and focused students.
Avalanche
Old avalanches observed below Frankenstein’s south face.