Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Looking around the Whitney area it was pretty active with natural avalanches on slopes mainly with a north to northeast aspect. Some of these natural avalanches were from cornices breaking off and some were just the volume of new snow over loading the slope in a short period of time. </p>
A few photos of some of the natural activity around the Whitney area.
I noticed how filled in and thick the run outs are on some of the bigger slopes like this one on Moffit Peak.
There are so many different layers in the snow pack right now with old wind crusts, storm layers and some sun and heat crusts and it is challenging to keep track of all of them.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The winds are the big red flag with so much new snow to blow and drift onto the leeward terrain. The wind was just not along the high ridge lines, but even down into lower terrain filling in fresh tracks. </p> <p>I think the new snow has settled out some given the high angle of the sun this time of year , but the wind just keeps stacking up drifted snow and the snow pack does not get much of a chance to completely settle and stabalize. Feels like we only get a day or two before the next round of snow and wind move into the area.</p>
Man it has been snowing and blowing in the high country, the riding was pretty amazing with over the hood conditions and a solid feeling snowpack out in the meadows and low angle terrain. The gusty winds were blowing and drifting lots of snow today, but the wind did keep the snow on the sunny aspects from getting too wet and damp.