Flattop Mountain

We ventured to the Continental Divide to see if the wind had been at work.

• Large swaths of wind-affected terrain had been stripped of snow by prevailing westerly winds.  
• Fields of older, thick, hard slabs were observed in many leeward locations. In some places, these rested on a layer of weak faceted snow on the ground (see image). 
• Fresh, soft slabs formed overnight were reactive to the weight of our skis, but cracking did not extend beyond our skis. 
• The snowpack is shallow in sheltered and exposed locations, limiting travel.
• One previously reported slab avalanche was observed in extreme terrain on Little Dog Mountain (see image).

The snowpack depth varied between 0 to 36 inches. The higher-end totals were in wind-drifted locations. Snowpit tests required hard force to break through the overlying slab to achieve failure in faceted weak snow surrounding crusts. No propagation was observed.