Paulina

There is approx 16 inches of new storm snow at Paulina over the past 5 days about 4 inches in past 24hrs. Within this new storm snow I was able to trigger small, isolated wind slabs in some NE start zones. Deeper in the snowpack, this new snow is sitting on a mixed bag of old snow surfaces. In the upper elevations closer to the summit, the snow was bonding OK to the previous melt freeze crusts.. .however, BELOW this crust was weak faceted snow. It would be hard to trigger a slide in these areas, but if you did it could be powerful. A small wind slab in these areas could step down to this layer. In more protected areas NW - NE At and Below Treeline, there was faceted snow ABOVE the old crust. This weak layer would be easier to trigger, but in most of these locations the snow above had yet to develop into a cohesive slab.... this cohesion can happen over a short period of time. I came away from my tour still uncertain of the overall strength of the snow pack. Some zones seemed strong... others weak. And it is very hard to tell where problems are and where they are not. Many slopes are most likely fine, but others might have a trigger point over a weak pocket that is just waiting for a one of us to hit it. In the steep chutes off the top I would be concerned of small wind slabs stepping down. In the lower elevations near the lava I would be concerned with weak faceted snow 16 inches down. With uncertainty like this I pull back my terrain choices... avoid terrain traps like the lava flow gullies and trigger points like wind loads steep chutes near the summit. Jonas Tarlen

Paulina

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