Noisy Basin/ Aeneas Ridge

Shiny, happy people in Noisy Basin today, because it was a storm day!

• The overnight snow continued today, with high snowfall rates (1" an hour or more this afternoon).* 
• Winds were Calm to Light in Noisy Basin, but Light to Moderate on Aeneas Ridge, with some snow transport. 
• Upper elevation slopes were talkative: a collapse, shooting cracks, and 2 remotely-triggered avalanches (see avalanches). Except for the collapse, the talk was in leeward terrain that harbored soft slabs thickened and stiffened by wind (see problems). 
• Mid elevation slopes were mostly quiet, with a right-side up snowpack that did not produce propagation or sudden failures in our tests.

*It snowed enough to erase snowmobile tracks up the road, but that's nowhere near enough to smooth out the deep, hard, punishing bumps. Ooof. 

One distinct whumpf at 6900-7000 feet a southwest aspect. Shooting cracks (20-75 feet) on lee side of ridge crest, in soft slabs of drifted snow. 2 remotely-triggered slides.

Mid- and upper-elevation snowpacks have a generally similar structure. Both have right-side up soft slabs above the 2/3 ice or ice/ crust complex.  They differ, however, in some key details.

• Mid elevation: 60-80 cm of new and recent snow (F to 4F hard) above the 2/3 ice/ crust complex (K to 1F hard). On NW slope near 6500 feet, ECTN18 down 60 cm on old/ new interface. No sudden planar or collapses in compression test with crust isolated. 
• Upper elevation: 50 cm of new and recent snow (F to 4F hard) above the 2/3 ice layer (K hard). Not thick melt-freeze layer below this. On NE slope at 7000 feet adjacent to shooting crack, CT9 SP down 25 cm on old/ new interface. CT 12 SC 40 cm down on slightly softer older snow. Looked and felt like facets, but blowing snow made it difficult to be definitive.
• The upper elevation, lee slope snowpack was much more talkative - a collapse, multiple shooting cracks, 2 remotely triggered slides. 
• The difference in depth and structure is likely due to the bout of northeast winds 2/3 and 2/4 that scoured these slopes down to the ice. 
• The snowpack structure at upper elevations has the potential to develop into a Persistent Slab problem. 

We felt comfortable skiing a 30-35* slope in sheltered, mid elevation terrain. The leeward, upper elevation chutes were clearly dangerous and off limits. 

*note: the ice was probably deposited Jan. 30 or 31; it may have been buried 2/1-2; it was defintiely buried by 2/3.