Quick report
- Aspect
- Southeast
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing
- Elevation
- 3048 m
- Slope Angle
- 20°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Recent avalanche activity on southeast aspects. Some new snow avalanche activity in the top 5" of new snow where it had been slightly wind-affected. This was on steeper north-northeast facing terrain. Sensitive new cornice, but isolated to the newest 5" of snow. I couldn't find any real new snow instabilities below the 5" mark. I did feel some cracking and collapsing on easterly aspects. One of the more significant collapses occurred when I took my skis off to dig a quick pit and the slope around me settled. Cracking occurred in the wind-loaded snow on top of the melt-freeze crust while ascending the ridge. </p>
Snowpit dug adjacent to an avalanche reported on February 17th. The pit location was a lower slope angle with less wind loading. There was a slight melt-freeze crust with small grained broken stellars with sharp edges above the crust 4" below the surface in this location. In other locations (see photo below) the melt-freeze crust with facets above was closer to 12-16" below the surface where it had been wind-loaded. As things currently stand I think that to get an avalanche on this layer you need higher slope angles and some factor creating a denser slab (wind, sun, more snow) above the facets associated with a crust.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Over the last few days we have seen a number of avalanches on easterly aspects. Many of these avalanches are failing on small grained facets above a melt-freeze crust. Drew noted this layer in Upper BCC on the <a href="https://utahavalanchecenter.org/observation/84129">16th of February</a> and Greg went looking for it and did not find it near <a href="https://utahavalanchecenter.org/observation/84230">Ben Lomond on the 18th</a>, but I did see an avalanche triggered on this layer in<a href="https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanche/84202"> Hells Canyon on the 18th.</a> Dig down to see if you can find the slight crust before committing to steeper slopes as it won't be everywhere and if it has a slab on top of it you may trigger an avalanche on this layer from a distance. </p>
5" settled snow on southerly aspects where you could feel the crust with your skis on some aspects. On northerly aspects ski depth penetration was closer to 12-16" and the skiing felt bottomless.