Green Butte

Today is the first day we've had access to Bunny Flat since Sunday. Temperatures stayed below freezing, yet the brief periods of sunshine caused slight melting of the snow surface up to 7,700 feet and provided enough solar input to release a couple of natural wet loose avalanches below 9,000 feet on Casaval Ridge (see attached avalanche observation). Previous warming below and near treeline is apparent by icicles on trees and is noticeable when skiing or sledding solar aspects below 7,700 feet. Additionally, there is a solar crust beneath 6-8 inches of new snow below treeline. Plenty of dry snow remains available for transport near and, especially above treeline. Folks travelling near above treeline on Sargents Ridge during the latter half of the day reported moderate amounts of active wind transport, cracking, and older avalanches that likely occured during the peak storm intensity last Sunday or Monday. 

In a snow pit on a SE aspect at 8,800 feet, a stout ice layer, 63 cm down from the surface, prevented me from measuring the true height of snow at this location. An extended column test revealed easy to moderate sensitivity on the new/old snow interface 14 cm down. No propagation or additional fractures occurred during this stability test. See attached snow profile to dive deeper into the layering.