Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall
Snow density was very elevation-dependent. It was very wet and soupy around 8000', steadily increasing in quality to blower powder at 9000' and above. Even relatively small elevation differences of a few hundred feet seemed to make a difference. Snowfall was a steady 1-2 inches per hour when I left at 6:30pm. About a foot of new snow had already accumulated at high elevations where it wasn't slushy.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>New snow fell upside-down today, and bonded to itself well enough to create a decent soft slab. I observed a Q1 shear on the new snow/old snow boundary on multiple shovel tilt tests; tapping was not required to cause the snow to break apart into two slabs. Very poor bonding of the new snow observed. An ECT was inconclusive, some propagation occurred but the slab was compressed too easily by the shovel to get reliable results. Overall, I would say the snowpack has the strength (very weak interface) and structure (new snow forming a slab) for soft slab avalanches, but I'm not sure whether it has the requisite propagation energy.</p> <p>Moderate winds observed, even in the valley below PP3 where it's fairly well-treed, and definitely on the ridgelines. Est 10-20 mph. Plenty of snow available for transport.</p>