Quick report
At mid elevation the weak layer at the ground was less concerning than upper elevations. The two layers of buried surface hoar are something we will need to pay attention to as snow from the next storms will build a bigger slab over them.
Upper elevation slopes were loaded with wind slabs 2 to 6" deep in isolated pockets near ridges. They were harder to initiate shooting cracks and we could not get them to slide. The weak layer of basal facets at the ground or near the ground was more concerning. This will be a layer to keep track of as well. The same is true where a weak layer of facets were found between two crusts about a foot deep. At the moment none of the layers produced concerning results. Keep in mind that snowpit test results can vary on the same slope and more information will make us feel better about detemining how dangerous these layers are.
Isolated pockets of 2 to 6" wind slabs that were not very reactive on test slopes. We got one slope to create a shooting crack around 6' from our skis.Weather
- Air Temp
- 35 at the car
- Cloud Cover
- scattered
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- Trace
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Partly cloudy skies for the whole day with no new snowfall. Winds from the east averaged light with strong gusts on ridges. Temperatures between and mid 20s F and mid 30s F.
Snowpack
We dug a pit in the trees at 2,500' and at 3,200' to see how concerning a layer of buried faceted snow is near the ground. We also wanted to see if new weak layers were forming in the new crusts that formed from the rain/snow storm last week. At 2,500' we dug a pit on a northwest aspect, 25 degree slope. Snow depth in the pit was 75 cm. The pit did not produce concerning results. Basal facets near the ground were rounding at this location. There are many new crusts in the snowpack. Specifically, around a foot deep there was a buried layer of surface hoar between 2 crusts and a buried layer of surface hoar about an inch from the surface. These are two layers that may become a problem in the future.
At 3,200' we dug another pit on a west aspect. This pit was 36cm deep. and did not produce concerning results. There were 2 crusts at this elevation. The basal facets near the ground were more developed and are more concerning, espcially in areas with a big slab on top of them. There was also a layer of facets between the 2 crusts that may create problems in the future.