Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Heavy snow and strong winds are likely overloading the snow pack creating dangerous avalanche conditions. I was surprised stomping around today that I was not getting more cracking in the new snow, might need a steeper slope to get things moving. Snow continued all day adding a few more inches and the winds did relax somewhat later in the afternoon. </p>
Full on winter conditions today along the Mirror Lake Highway, lots of new snow and steady winds creating deep powder conditions.
The trail groomer was out today pushing a full blade of new snow and keeping the trails in great shape.
On this northeast facing slope near 10,000' in elevation, I was able to get full propagation with 9 taps from the elbow on a column of snow on some buried faceted snow near the middle of the snow pack. I would suspect that this new load may test the strength of these weak layers.
Poor visibility today, but I imagine some of the higher elevation terrain has gone through a natural avalanche cycle given the new snow and strong winds.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Winds have been all over the place for a few days blowing all the new snow into deep drifts and overloading the snow pack. The visibility today did not allow any views of the higher terrain, but would imagine many slopes have avalanched naturally. </p> <p>A good load of new snow and wind will test some of the weaknesses buried around around the middle of the snow pack. I was able to get full propagation of a column of snow in a snow pit on a northeast aspect. </p>
Lots of deep powder snow and the winds have also been moving a lot of this new snow around creating some big deep drifts.