Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Only some small shallow wind slabs just off the ridge lines, these were not very connected and only found them in isolated places on the north side of the compass. Tomorrow's increase in winds might create more widespread wind issues.</p>
On this north/northwest facing slope at 10,400' with a slope angle of 30 degrees, I did get an ECTP27 that appeared to fail on some preserved near surface faceted snow a couple storms back when there was a break in the weather.
A few isolated shallow wind slabs today that were not very connected and did not seem too widespread.
Darn, looks like the spring melt is underway with pretty thin snow cover around the trailhead.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>I did not see any recent avalanches in the Gold Hill area from the weekend. There was some loose dry sluffs in the steeper areas, but none of these broke into weak shallow snow. I did get an ECTP27 that looked liked the column failed on some near surface faceted snow during a break in the storms.</p> <p>The southwest winds today were up and down with light to moderate speeds around mid-morning, seemed like a brief lull early afternoon, then picking back up. I was finding very minor shallow wind slabs just off some ridgelines, but not everywhere. </p>
All the usual spring like snow conditions starting with firm hard frozen tracks this morning, a tricky melt freeze crust even on the sled, while there is still nice dense soft snow, but it is getting a little harder to find.