Quick report
Day off tour to find good snow in a quiet spot.
- Drifting snow had obscured but not erased a skin track from the previous day.
- Wind blown snow was stiffening and thickening the snow surface on S-SE-NE slopes. We did not encounter any unstable slabs.
- Up to ~20 cm of recent snow above 5500 feet. F hard where not brushed by wind. Not a cohesive slab.
- Ridge crests capped by hard, wind-polished slabs, with cornices above southeasterly slopes due to bout of north winds. No signs of instability on these hard slabs.
- I did not find the 1/31 buried surface hoar in hand pits in sheltered, shady terrain. Just soft, weak facets about 40-50 cm below the surface.
- On solar slopes, the 1/31 melt-freeze crust and facets are buried about the same depth. Again, no signs of instability.
- An uptrack on a steep, northerly slope turned into a facet treadmill at points.
- This area has a thinner snowpack than elsewhere in the region, particularly below 5500 feet.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 15
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 5
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Thin clouds to start the day, w light winds. Clouds filled in and winds picked up through the day. Winds mostly southwesterly, though we did get some swirling and gusts from the east and north. Light to moderate blowing snow in exposed terrain by mid afternoon. S-1 snow showers. Less than 1 cm accumulated on our vehicle at the highway by late afternoon.