Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
Lee aspects have significantly more snow (and therefore the best riding conditions) due to loading, but today they also posed the greatest risk. A simple ski cut at the top of the line was not the answer, as loading had occurred well down the slopes. We kept our slopes under 32 degrees.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Leeward aspects had loading occur well off of ridgelines. North facing chutes on sunset had been crossloaded. Loading occurred throughout our tour which ended around noon. </p> <p>We dug a couple pits near the basin. Here, we found a thin layer of graupel roughly 15" down. This probably fell with the front on Nov. 13th. ECTP25 & ECTP9. Probably localized, but if you're starting your line underneath a cliff band (which we saw people do) or somewhere graupel pooling is possible, it would have been worth checking for its presence. </p>