Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
The reason I put poor snowpack structure is that I went to No Name Bowl and it still has the most faceted snow I’ve noted anywhere. Right now there is zero slab on the facets but the whole pack, 3 to 4 feet deep is faceted and loose, the rocky starting zone at the top has once again faceted out to the ground and is almost unsupportable on skis, while standing still. There is also quite a crop of surface hoar on the entire slope that did not lay down with the sun today, I think the sun angle is still to low on this northerly slope. The faceted snowpack is not a big deal right now but with a load it will avalanche. It was apparent that parts of the bowl had avalanched during the storm on Sunday, Monday with debris piles noted in a few locations. The most recent activity has been wet activity on the E-SE facing part of the bowl which most likely occurred Tuesday or Wednesday, mostly point releases and roller balling. The faceted snowpack and the surface hoar are something to pay attention to when we get a new load of snow.
Photos: wet activity, and surface hoar growth
Snowpack
Settled recrystallized powder on the N end of the compass, melt-freeze crust or damp on the the S end of the compass depending on time of day.