Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>We traveled along the ridge between Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood from Flagstaff to East Pass Silver Fork. In our travels, we had many thunderous collapses and shooting cracks on the northerly (shady) side of the mountain. </p> <p> </p> <p>It was pretty clear that if you dropped in, you would most likely trigger an avalanche that was 1-3' deep and a few hundred feet wide. The old October and November snow is very loose and faceted along the entirety of the upper elevation northerly aspects in Day's and Silver Fork. I will be avoiding this terrain for some time. </p> <p> </p> <p>Don't be fooled into thinking the snow is stable. If you're traveling on off aspects (those without faceted snow), it could be easy to think the snowpack is stable. However, if you change your elevation or aspect to one that has weak faceted snow you will likely trigger an avalanche.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Southerly winds started to transport snow around noon. However, it was confined to the upper elevation peaks for now. I think all the new snow instabilities are gone, and now avalanches will be found in places where snow is being drifted from the wind or on a slope with old, weak-faceted snow. </p>
Powder snow on all aspects and elevations.