Observation: Cardiac Ridge

Wanted to get one last look at Cardiac before tomorrow’s storm. The light density snow did quite a bit of sluffing in steeper terrain, Cardiac Ridge, Cardiac Bowl, and LSB. The most sluffing was on the E facing due to the light density of the snow and the slick melt freeze bed surface that was created on Friday when it got warm. There was one soft slab that came off the ridge and I put that on the avy list. It’s kind of a tricky deal out there, there’s slick melt freeze crusts on the E, SE, S and SW, decomposing wind skins and wind slabs on the N and not much snow at the mid elevations. With the temperatures being so cold it doesn’t seem likely that we will overload any crusts or wind slabs making slides go into old snow but I could see some action happening on the slick bed surfaces near the top. Wind will be the biggest factor in building slabs.

photos: sluffing in the bowl, ridge, and LSB, snow pit at 10700ft E facing on the ridge, NW winds moving snow on The Ridge and Superior, melt freeze crust on E facing and a wet pushalanche on my exit

6 to 7 inches of new light density snow that did not provide much cushion from the rocks. Even through the air temperature was cold the S and SE facing was damp on my exit.