Quick report
With an incoming storm, westerly aspects appear to be on the naughty list if/when a slab forms. West aspects are mostly faceted, with the sunnier west slopes having crusts of variable thickness at the surface, capping the weaker snow below. Coverage is typically continuous near and below treeline, and variable above treeline due to previous strong winds.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- none
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Intermintent sunshine, light winds, and unusually warm temperatures.
Snowpack
We selected this short tour to gather another data point on westerly-facing terrain before the incoming storms. West slopes transition from a fully dry, faceted snowpack on the shadiest aspects (270-292 degrees) and supportive-to-skis crusts at the surface as you near the border of west and southwest aspects (around 250 degrees). We dug a profile on a due west slope (270 degrees) and found a thin, 1cm, melt-freeze crust capping a mostly faceted snowpack. This pattern similarly matches the surface conditions encountered on east aspects in recent days.