Gray Butte

In the past 24 hours Gray Butte has received 4-8 inches of new snow below and near treeline. This new snow has accumulated on a thin melt-freeze crust and should bond well as temperatures hold near freezing. Thus far, the snow remains unconsolidated, even on wind loaded terrain. It overlies a well-constructed snowpack displaying no layers of concern or weakness to speak of. While there isn't much more snow accumulation expected out of this initial storm, the wind will continue to blow at ideal speeds for building wind slabs. Continue to keep an out for dense pockets of snow, most likely to be found near and above the treeline on north and northeast aspects.

We observed no cracking or collapsing. In steep, wind-loaded terrain on a west/northwest aspect, we intentionally triggered a small (D1) dry loose avalanche. This slide was 6-8" deep and was less than 20 feet wide and ran less than 100 feet down the slope.