Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Our avy group stuck to slopes below 30 degrees today, due to the Considerable avalanche danger rating. Heavy snowfall, strong winds, and ominous thundersnow supported the forecast’s prediction of increasing avalanche hazard. We practiced snowpit obs on a northern aspect just east of the bottom of Hillman’s Highway. We found a few feet (!) of new snow above the refrozen old snowpack that existed prior to March 10th. Column tests resulted in CTE down 15cm and CTE down 30cm at a point where the density of the new snow changed slightly. One extended column test showed a fracture with no propagation on the 13th tap. All fractures had a somewhat planar quality. None of these snowpit observations seemed as informative as the isolated cracking we observed while skinning through the sideways pelting snow/graupel. Staying off of steep slopes felt like the right decision today. The Sherburne Trail was extremely fun - possibility the best run since early December! Remember early December, when we were so young and innocent and kindled the hope that “maybe this will be a big snow year?” Well, today the Sherbie was a blast, with no rocks or mud until the final turns.