Quick report
- Aspect
- East
- Red Flags
- Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2896 m
- Slope Angle
- 19°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>With warm temperatures and sun exposure on south facing slopes the snow surface could become wet and heavy waking up wind loaded slopes and producing wet slides.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Snowpit (two pits) info concluded that there is still a weak layer of faceted snow from the ground to about 35cm above ground level. But On top of this weak layer is a dense connected slab. Though triggering a avalanche is becoming less likely, if triggered, it is going to be deep, heavy, and destructive. We also came upon a small remote triggered slide (snowmobile) in a steep drainage (terrain trap). See pic below. It appeared to be an older wind slab from the last Fri/Sat storm.</p> <p>Wind loaded slopes and rapid warming</p>
With the warm temperatures and direct sunlight the snowpack surface is setting up quickly. Along most of our route we could hear the skis of our sleds cutting through a thin crust on the surface. Below the surface in the meadows, in untracked snow and on north facing shaded slopes there is still some loose, creamy, dense new snow to be ridden. However, the further east we traveled (Soapstone->Iron mine creek canyon) the snow became thin, less dense and unpredictable. It made for tricky turning conditions as the sled would unpredictably collapse through the snow down to the surface.