GTNP - Maverick

Toured up to 10,000' via Maverick to see how the new snow was behaving. There was about 12-14” (30-40cm) of new snow at 7,000’ and about 24” (60cm) at 9,600’. The total height of snow was over 300cm (10’) at 9,600’. There was some wind affected snow (drifts/texture) present in exposed terrain from 8,000’ to 10,000’. We observed small, non-reactive wind slabs just below a ridgeline at 10,000’. These slabs are likely larger and more sensitive above 10,000’.

Overall, the new snow appears to be settling and bonding well to the old interface. We did not observe any cracking or collapsing, even in the wind affected snow. We also didn’t see any notable avalanches on the drive in (visibility was decent), or while in the field. Hand shears on the new/old interface were non-planar and broken. PST 100/100 on the new/old interface. It’s hard to fully trust steep terrain given the impressive amount of water that was just added to the snowpack, however, stability was better than expected and trending in the right direction.

We observed very few signs of instability. No cracking or collapsing in the new snow. I did not spot any obvious crowns on the drive in. We did not see any other recent avalanches while in the field.