Quick report
The most widespread concern was wet slides with the air temperature around 10C. A north-facing pit revealed that a weak layer still exists and could be triggered. Although stubborn, an avalanche on this layer could be catastrophic. I found a high propensity for propagation. Did not feel any cracking or whoomphing even when traveling in untouched terrain.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 50
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Very warm and sunny
Snowpack
Although the snowpack *felt* stable, a pit and stability tests told a different story. The pit was dug on a north-facing aspect at 6300ft. From the ground up to 20cm were large facets with a hand hardness of "fist". Above these facets were very stable and dense layers of ice crusts and small rounds. An ECT produced no result, but I suspected it may not have been fully isolated. A compression test resulted in a CT13, and a propagation saw test failed before 50% of the column length. Both produced a Q1 shear quality.