Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Collapsing, Rapid Warming, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2591 m
- Slope Angle
- 28°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>A litany of red flags. Consistent snowfall throughout the morning with potential for wind to move the snow plus prior wind loading. Current warm temps with anticipated rising rain/snow line make me concerned for the potential effects on the snowpack structure through the weekend. We had a small, localized collapse this morning while skinning just beneath a steep 3 meter tall rollover. Otherwise, the snowpack seemed fairly stable. Visibility was too poor to assess any recent avalanche activity.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Tests revealed a CT6 Q2, CT11 Q3, and ECTP13 Q1 25cm deep. This was below the new/old snow interface in what was a fairly consistent layer of wind affected snow (though not exceptionally hard packed). As the storm snow continues to pile on, I imagine this weakness could result in avalanches, if not natural, then human triggered.</p> <p>We were still 500 to 1000' below the ridgelines, but local knowledge tells me that wind could be a significant concern throughout this storm.</p>
Approximately 10cm new snow. Soft snow pack at lower elevation, with avg. ski pen. of 20 to 30cm, sometimes at much as 60cm, which made for arduous skinning. Boot pen. at high point was 80cm. Any wind exposed area such as ridges and knobs were solidly windpacked with the fresh snow on top. Upper elevations in general obviously had more windpack or otherwise stronger underlying snow with smaller ski pen. of 10 to 30cm. Density obviously changed with elevation with somewhat moist (could make a snowball with effort) powdery turns initially leading to increasing wet and heavy snow as we neared the trailhead.
We dug a north aspect in search of potential basal facets and did not find any. The snowpack was quite rightside up with 1F snow at the base progressing to F at the surface. Much of the mid and lower portions of the snowpack were rounds or rounding with the graupel layer at the mid snowpack beginning to disappear.