Mount Leidy

We observed numerous D1-D2 avalanches, many of which occurred on Jan. 20.  The riding was good and supportable due to recent snowfall settling into a very hard slab; this may be misleading as to stability, as you can't feel the weak snow as well on the sled unless you hit the right spot and sink through to the weaker snow.  Snow that held on throughout the December drought snow is particularly weak and can be found in a thick layer near the base of the snowpack. We dug a pit around 9,300' on a NE aspect, which propagated easily (ECTP8). Upper elevations are definitely still touchy here. I imagine a lot of the middle elevations went naturally in the warm temps, and will stabilize ahead of the uppers in the coming week. We also observed recent avalanche activity within the past 24 hours and experienced collapsing and cracking on multiple slopes. 

Togwotee almost always has weak snow, but this layer is very different than previous years. It will remain more sensitive for longer. It is capable of producing large avalanches, even from flat terrain below or next to a slope. Usually, much of the snowpack of Togwotee is weak. This season, recent snowfall followed by wind and a warm-up has created a very solid slab atop that weak snow. Give steep terrain a wide margin, use smaller test slopes on similar aspects, and when in doubt stick to less steep slopes and steer clear of any terrain-trap features.