Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading
I added a few photos to show some of the wind damage at upper elevations and the amazing coverage of our deep snowpack.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The only problem today was the strong, ridgetop winds that were redistributing snow on pretty much any slope above treeline. By the end of the day, the winds seemed to pick up and were getting down into the trees in the mountain valleys, knocking snow bombs out of the trees and making miniature blizzards from the snow in the trees. The wind slabs were not cracking very much because they were so hard and dense but it looked like it was really loading slopes such as the north gullies on Birthday Chutes and similar terrain. The hazard would probably be Low with the exception of Moderate hazard in avalanche terrain with recent wind deposits. The wind has swirled around most every direction in the high mountain cirques so you can find them on any aspect.</p>
I have to admit this was a delightful day of skiing on about 5 inches of medium density snow on top of a spongy base, plus the coverage is superb and you can finally have fun on slopes that are usually filled with small firs and alder. And we only saw a handful of small parties in the entire drainage today--on a Sunday. The wind has done quite a bit of damage above about 10,000' making lots of firm windboard. But in the mid and lower elevation, wind and sun sheltered trees, it was one of the funnest days I've had in a long time.