Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
We found a complicated layering of persistent weak layers at upper elevations on the west side of the Seeley Lake zone today. These layers proved to be unreactive today; however, with an expected new load coming in the form of new snow and strong wind, sensitivity may increase rapidly. We found some isolated cracking in small recently formed wind slabs and observed active wind loading onto northeast facing aspects.
Small cracking was observed in wind loaded snow. We observed active wind transport at ridge line loading northeast facing slopes.Weather
- Air Temp
- 19
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 4200
- Recent Snowfall
- 6
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
It was lightly raining at the trailhead, temperatures were warm, and little wind was blowing in the morning. Up at ridgeline in the afternoon, there was moderate wind with strong gusts from the southwest, active snow transport, and light - borderline moderate - snowfall. The sky was overcast all day, and conditions were similar in the afternoon back down at the trailhead as the morning.
Snowpack
The snow was warm and moist down at lower elevations. At middle elevations, the snow was cool and dry, and in exposed terrain, we encountered heavily wind affected snow. At upper elevations, we found an average of 5 ft of snow. There was approximately 6" (15cm) of new/recent snow at the surface that was being transported onto northeast facing slopes.
We dug a snowpit on a northeast aspect at 7000'. We found about 6" (15cm) of low density new/recent snow sitting on a very thin sun crust. Below this crust were decomposing fragments, rounded grains, and a well preserved layer of graupel. We found buried surface hoar and buried near surface facets sitting above one of two melt freeze crusts. Between the crusts was a layer of near crust facets. Below the crusts was a layer of rounding facets that turned into basal facets that made up the bottom 26" (65cm) of the snowpack. We performed two extended column tests and got a moderate non-propagating result at the thin sun crust near the surface in the first test (ECTN13) and no results in the second (ECTX).