Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Visible flagging off all the upper elevation ridgelines. Transportation was obvious, as well as signs of isolated wind drifted snow avalanches. </p>
Headed out today to check out the snow surfaces, and what the wind was doing before this next system moved into the canyons. Skinning today felt very unique, similar to skiing on faceted snow. There was the thick wind drifted snow on top of low-density new snow to the ground. Winds remained consistent and continued to increase throughout the tour. Given the increasing signs of instability during the day adding higher density snow, and increased winds will cause the avalanche danger to rise rapidly.
In areas with dense trees or rocks, it is still very easy to catch a ski, it's still early season.
Snowpack
The surface snow conditions had drastically changed over the last 24 hours. The previously loose surface has been heavily impacted by the wind creating various layers of dense loose snow at lower elevations to a thicker wind skin at mid-elevations. At upper-elevations isolated pockets of wind-slabs have begun forming.
Photo showing the relative density change within the current snowpack.
Photo of the crown of the small wind pocket triggered.