Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading, Cracking, Rapid Warming
Travels today were from the white pine trailhead, up the pink pine ridge to red right returning, and then up west Scottie's to Scottie's bowl. Elevations of 7600 to 10100 feet, and primarily north, northeast, and west aspects. Instabilities were present on all aspects traveled , with mid slope wind pockets skinning up a west facing slope to the north of west Scottie's notable. Lots of cracking there and some small wind slabs about 10 feet wide cracked out and propagated but didn't travel far. No avalanches observed stepped down below the new snow from overnight/this morning so seemed generally manageable, at least in the terrain I traveled that didn't experience major wind loading.
On the drive down the canyon noted wet slides in the y, y-not, and triangle couloirs.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Wind slabs were very sensitive along and right below ridge lines. A ski cut in the steep trees to the west of Scottie's bowl resulted in a 6 inch windslab running about 200 vertical feet down the run, and many similar avalanches were noted in the steep north facing terrain right below the ridge. Some of these appeared to be natural while others were human triggered, likely on ski cuts</p> <p>Long running sluffs were the norm in terrain that hadn't slabbed up. Triggered one dropping into the chute off the rainbow peak ridge to red right returning that could have packed a punch if caught in it. All the new snow from last night's storm was involved and it piled up surprisingly deep although not enough to bury a human.</p>
Lots of different snow surfaces out there today. About 2 inches of dense snow at the white pine trailhead increasing to probably about 6-8 inches of lower density snow above 9000 feet. West aspects felt like dust on crust but north and northeast above 8500 feet or so felt bottomless without a significant crust below the new snow.