Quick report
Cold and clear conditions continue to drive weakening of the surface snow in most locations. Crusts cap much of the snowpack on slopes facing the sun and remain remarkably stout. In winded terrain, pockets of very firm old wind-slab still exist and are most concerning where they overly weak sugary snow.
No obvious signs of instability observedWeather
- Air Temp
- 22
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Temperatures were warm in the valley bottom and boosted by direct sunlight, but began to cool by 2pm as the next small cold front rolled in. Light E and NE winds blew during our time in the field.
Snowpack
Surface Faceting: Weak sugary snow exists in the upper 4-8" (10-20cm) of the snowpack in all areas that aren't capped in stout crusts. Widespread small-grained facets have developed due to extensive cold and dry conditions. In valley bottoms, impressive amounts of surface hoar have also grown.
Crusts: On SE, S, SW and W aspects, crusts exist that are slowing snow grain metamorphism in the upper snowpack. Additionally, there are pockets of very firm old wind-board (wind skins and wind slabs) that exist near ridgelines and on open slopes.
Shallow Snowpacks: In areas where the entire snowpack is less than ~2 feet deep, nearly the entire snowpack is faceting. The largest of these weak snow grains are found near the ground (pictured).