Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Most notable red flags on southerly aspects, even before the sun was a factor (basically full white out all morning above 9000'). Several cracks shooting up to 20', a few small (D1) avalanches.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The low density snow over night is quickly being transported and compacted into sensitive wind slabs on south aspect slopes. The underlying new low density snow is making for an upside down structure that is very weak. Sun or continued warming this afternoon will likely spike hazard. </p>
Dense wind affected snow in the upper layer of new snow on south aspects. In most places the wind slab was 4-10cm thick, although at ridge top and in other isolated pockets the new wind slab was 20-40cm thick. It seemed clear that the highest PI overnight came with no wind and was actually surprisingly light, but in the early morning when the snow stopped, the winds picked up and the temps began to warm a bit, there was a very noticable effect in the upper layer of the southerly aspect slopes. When we skied at at noon, north still felt consistent and fairly well bonded to the old snow surface while souths were becoming increasingly touchy. I'm sure that if the clouds clear our and sun shows its head there'll be some action on south aspects.