Quick report
The snowpack here is starting to show some true colors; Feb. 18th is buried about 1-2 feet deep and remains very sensitive. This layer is worth digging for and assessing before committing to any slope. Noteworthy to Togwotee is its weak structure that we haven't seen activate fully and rear its head this year; I think the trend will be more activity with this snowpack as we trend towards spring, which may be deceiving, as we tend to think instability tapers off with warmer weather.
If avalanches are triggered or noted here, please email, shoot us a text, or submit an observation (public or private) to help us track the activity of these layers!
Riders today triggered a large (D2) avalanche from below the slope on a southerly aspect in the middle elevations of Togwotee (see the below photo, and thanks for sending it our way!)Weather
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Clear skies and warmer temps (may trend things towards more instability if skies stay clear tomorrow)
Snowpack
The newest snowfall sits atop harder wind slab resting on facets/crust from Feb. 18. Pretty easy to break through with a sled once off trail. Weaker snow mid-pack and at the ground was obvious stepping off the sled or anytime the track could break through the harder slab mentioned above. Pits yielded easy failures (propagation with not very many taps, ECTP9). We dug at the same locations visited 3 weeks ago, and I was shocked by how much poorer the snowpack structure has gotten. Feb. 18 crust is easy to find on aspects on the southern (solar) half of the compass, ranging from E-S-W.