Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>No outward red flags in my travel today. However by digging to the bottom of the snowpack a 2-3 inch layer of weak faceted snow was present on a northeast aspect at about 9,600 feet.</p>
Toured in the Electric Lake bowl this afternoon at elevations ranging from 8,600 to 9,600 feet. Solar aspects as well as some low angle NE and NW facing slopes had a sun crust. Wind effect was prevalent along ridgetops and flat open areas but wasn't an issue in more sheltered terrain. The main issues I noted were weak faceted snow at the base of the snowpack and surface hoar preserved on shady aspects. I dug a very quick pit at about 9,600 feet in elevation, right above the main northeast facing bowl that houses the steepest terrain in the bowl. Total snow depth was about 2.5 feet, with 2-3 inches of weak sugary snow at the bottom. Photos show the surface hoar, and a snowpit with the weak snow visible at the base.
Snowpack
Snow surfaces ranged from wind crust in exposed areas, to sun crust on solar aspects, to dense settled powder on north facing slopes. Snow has settled substantially since the storms late last week. There is lots of surface hoar forming on sheltered north facing slopes. If this is still intact during the next series of storms it could be something to keep an eye on.