Quick report
• No recent avalanche activity observed. • A small (D1.5) slab avalanche ran in the Test Slopes on the Shed 6/7 ridge sometime during the Feb. 20th/21st storm. • From the highway we saw the crown of the large hard slab avalanche that the FAC team investigated on Sunday, Feb. 26th. This is on the east face of Snowshed Mtn. and just outside of the Railway Program Area (photo). • No obvious signs of instability observed. No collapses or whoomphs. • No active windloading. Signs of previous windloading evident on all aspects. • Substantial previous crossloading of mid and upper elevation starting zones in the Program Area. Particularly in the starting zones of Shed 5 and Path 1163. • Excavated a test pit at ~6000’ elevation, SE aspect, 30° slope to investigate and test the persistent weak layers of concern that are deeply seated in the snowpack. o Total snow depth was 170 cm (67”). o The Feb 20th/21st pre-storm interface was at 105 cm (26” down). o The mid-Jan. facets/crust interface was at 65 cm (40” down). o The late-Dec. facets/crust interface was at 45 cm (49” down). o The first Extended Column Test yielded no fractures (ECTX) o Compression Test resulted in CT22 Q2 at the Feb 20th/21st storm interface. o Deep Tap test performed over the mid-Jan facets/crust resulted in DT25 Q2 on facets just above the late-Dec. crust. o Still curious, we removed 14” off the top of our 2nd ECT column and repeated the test. We had propagation at 30 taps on the facets atop the late-Dec. crust with the block then sliding into the pit. o Finally, a Propagation Saw test on the facets above the late-Dec. crust resulted in 65/125 END.
Weather
• Overcast skies with light snowfall accumulations throughout the day. • Light SW winds above 5500’ elevation. • Daytime highs reached into the upper 20s °F on the Canyon floor and into the upper-teens °F above 6000’ elevation.