Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
Seems like I write this once per shift, but what a difference a week makes! After last week's journey in the Crystal backcountry, which featured firm icy surfaces and death-defying skiing, we were pleased to find better coverage, soft snow, and pleasant turns during our trip today.
My initial impression right out of the parking lot was that I'd blown the forecast and we'd only be dealing with dry loose slides and good powder skiing. That opinion quickly changed as we ascended toward the ridge and encountered more wind loading, which grabbed our attention and reaffirmed my forecast.
Actively blowing snow was building cornices right in front of us, drifting in our skin track, and building new drifts on leeward slopes. We got numerous test slopes to produce blocks of snow and easily kicked sensitive cornices onto the slopes below. We also got long shooting cracks up to 10-12 feet as we dipped off ridgelines to test the waters. Small pockets of wind slab were easily triggered as we tiptoed around, testing the reactivity of the storm snow.
On the SE slopes of Bullion Peak facing Union Basin, we were almost able to push a wet loose slide in the sun-moistened snow. Snow was already shedding from trees, and rollerballs were easy to initiate. As we descended toward the parking lot, the same was true lower down. The snow got heavier and heavier until it was downright sticky near the truck. We ran into another party that had skied East Peak and told us that it was already heavy and moist, and they were headed for shadier aspects.
We got numerous long cracks in wind-loaded terrain. We were also able to trigger pockets of wind slab and easily kick fresh cornices.Weather
Kind of a wild weather day - snow showers were a constant, even when patches of blue sky were showing through the clouds. Moderate gusty winds on ridgelines, mixing down lower at times. It was chilly, but during the briefest of sun breaks, it would warm up quickly.
Snowpack
The recent storm snow increases in depth dramatically as you ascend in elevation. Although it started dry at all elevations in the morning, it was very moist as we made our way back to the parking lot midday.
We found roughly a foot of snow over the 3/25 crust in sheltered locations above roughly 5600'. A subtle crust a few cms above the 3/25 was present on many slopes, but not everywhere. Between these two interfaces, faceted snow was identified. The snowpack is still dependent on aspect and exposure to wind - with shallow and thicker areas over the 3/25 plus subtle crusts and interfaces.
No concerning snowpack tests today, but the slab potential was certainly there in wind-affected terrain higher up.