Smuggler's Notch

We heard and felt a small collapse while digging a hand pit just off Rt. 108 on the Jeffersonville side of the Notch. This is probably the weak layer under the ice crusts from MLK warm up. We were able to produce some cracks when testing small rolls and could produce soft mini wind slab (about 20 cm of surface snow) slide on an unsupported slope. We practiced pits by the road below Terror-Tory ice climb (at Noon, 1950', ESE, 34° slope). We found near surface instabilities between 30-50 cm below the upper layers of the soft surface snowpack, and several ice crusts deeper down. No propagation witnessed in extended column tests, but resistant planer failures on compression tests. CTH23 RP @ 50cm from surface and similar results in other pits. ECTX in all pits. RB5 (for fun!) @30cm down. There were facets deep in the snowpack below several ice crusts (approx. 140 cm from surface in our location), and CT and ECT columns collapsed dramatically with a bit of prying (shear), but it would be unlikely that a human could impact through the snowpack that deep down and beneath such dense layers.

Quick report