Quick report
Thought it would be one of the days where you couldn't buy an avalanche - in the morning at least. But found shallow pockets of wind-drifted snow reactive on test slopes and hand pits above 5000 feet. Above this elevation, greenhouse conditions on Thursday had less effect on the topmost layer of snow, and the shallow surface slab had drier, weaker snow below. Not really much of a hazard at mid elevations, but could be in very consequential terrain, or could find thicker slabs up high. Overall conditions were almost not bad with a weird but smooth crust coming down from the saddle. The lower Boulderfield was challenging breakable crust at 11am. Hope it softened up! No persistent grain types found in pits, above the last thick AR crust from late-Jan or early-Feb.
Localized cracking around skis with cracking and small, shallow pockets releasing on wind-loaded test slopes above 5000 feet. Descending at 11am produced small rollerballs in the top few cm's of new snow.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Recent Snowfall
- 2
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Cloudy with below freezing temperatures to start the day. Light winds from the south. Occasional light snow flurries, and clouds thickened and lowered through the morning.
Snowpack
A few cm's of new snow from overnight over a breakable crust on all aspects up to 5000 feet. Above that elevation, the crust was more of a 1F, temperature-stiffened slab w/ dry 4F below. 10cm MFcr from 3/3 rainfall down 40cm, with thinner crust down 65cm - date of last crust unknown. The upper snowpack has undergone significant settlement with warm temperatures and rainfall over the last 4 days. CT's produced medium to hard PC and RP shears at various crusts and new-old interfaces. ECTN down 30cm at the new-old interface.
Avalanche
Numerous wet avalanches to D2 on all aspects and elevations, with a few wet slab crowns also observed. Most were likely related to heavy rainfall on March 3rd, but some of the smaller, more recent ones were due to greenhouse conditions warming 30cm of new snow on the 5th.