Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Elevation
- 3078 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>There were plenty of red flags Friday & Saturday (primarily wind & heavy snowfall), but today no red flags were apparent.</p>
Overall the snowpack looks very stable and we are off to a great start to the season, with decent coverage and supportable travel and riding conditions. Dug several pits between 9 and 10.5 K today and the low-density snow from earlier this past week is quickly gaining strength. This was a layer of concern as the Friday/Saturday storm and wind-driven snow would be quickly putting a load on top of it, but the strong winds, dense storm snow, and warm temperatures have allowed the entire snowpack to gain strength with no obvious weak layers.
Photo below shows the right-side-up snowpack, with the low-density snow from earlier this week at midpack. The snow down near the ground is damp and rounding.
Overall Moderate hazard that is trending towards Low.
Snowpack
Wind and warm temps have shrink-wrapped the snowpack. Shallow ski penetration (~10 cm) with a very supportable snow surface. HS above 9k ranges from 45-90 cms (18-36") Given the strong winds, plenty of wind-scoured slopes with widespread variability of snow depths. For example, you could dig in one area and find 75 cms (2.5') HS whereas dig in an adjacent area and find very thin coverage.