Quick report
Time: 1300-1600; Location: Hillmans. In the lower 2/3 of the gully, 30-45cm of dense, heavy snow from the past couple days lay on a waterlogged P hard crust. Hand shears to test this interface showed stubborn results where the block of new snow broke apart where pressure was applied. We couldn't get a hand shear to produce a clean failure on the crust. In the upper 1/3 of the gully, snowpack became more wind affected with shallower and stiffer new snow with some spots scoured down to an edgable crust. We didn't see any signs of cracking or propagation throughout the length of the gully and the snowpack felt rightside-up even as it stiffened higher up. We were happy to avoid the steeper gullies where it seemed like loose avalanches (somewhere between wet and dry) would have been a hazard with the amount of loose new snow present in the terrain.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 29
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- light
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Afternoon weather was in/out of the clouds with a light snow that started around 1400. Most of the gully was protected from wind but ridge-line winds were strong E. Snow from the past two days wasn't being actively transported but the snow currently falling was.