Augusta/Mineral Point

The goal of today's fieldwork was to track snow coverage across the snow-favored Northwest Mountains and Ruby Range.  We found continuous snow across aspects near and above treeline.  Northerly and east aspects above 10,500 feet are dry with a faceted snowpack of varying degrees; these structures look the most problematic after a future loading event.  Southeast aspects in this area could be problematic with a large loading event or significant wind loading with modest snowfall. 

Overall conditions are thin, and quality turns are rare even in the snow-favored Northwest Mountains.

Winds (west to north) from earlier in the work week (around the 24th and 25th) drifted snow above treeline onto southeast aspects in this area. We observed small collapses above treeline, where this drifting accumulated on small, faceted grains that formed over the preceding week. We changed our uptrack route to avoid these drifts as we climbed to the top of Augusta. Most drifts were small in size, 4 to 10 inches thick, and the weak layer grain size was less than 1mm. I expect the warmth from Thanksgiving, and likely on Friday, make this problem unlikely to produce an avalanche. However, if you found a drift on an east-facing slope, the problem may linger given that the warmth is not wetting the snow surface.

In general, we found continuous snow coverage on all aspects except below treeline aspects on the south side of the compass.  As we neared 11,000 feet, you could find snow on all aspects.  Easterly slopes above around 10,500 feet remain dry and lightly faceted, except soft, thin crusts on the sunniest east slopes.  East aspects above this elevation appear problematic when a slab forms.

Southeast slopes in this area commonly have a crust above facets near and above treeline.  A future loading event may create a persistent problem when it arrives.  A single west slope above treeline that we crossed showed a similar structure.