Schuylkill Ridge

Almost all of the steep terrain that we came near had avalanched during the 12/3 cycle, removing the mid-pack slab and concerns for failures near the ground. Those older layers did not produce signs of instability underfoot while breaking trail in undisturbed terrain, but continue to produce moderate to hard results in ECTs.  The most active issue was the 12/7 surface hoar layer buried about a foot deep. We triggered a couple of small soft slabs on this layer.   

Minor cracking on the 12/7 surface hoar layer, about 10" deep in a few wind-sheltered areas. No signs of instability on deeper weak layers.

NE aspect at 9700':   ECTP 9 and ECTN 6 on the 12/7 SH layer 25 cm deep.  ECTP 17 and ECTP 22 on the 11/30 facets (1mm, 4F) ~55cm deep, up to 1F hard.  PST 73/100 END

NE aspect at 10,600':  ECTP 26 on 11/16 facets (2 mm, F) ~80 cm deep, 1F hard.  No surface hoar here.