Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Cracking
- Elevation
- 3292 m
- Slope Angle
- 30°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The top 2-3" had a propensity to propagate out in areas of sun and wind affect. The wind loading appeared fairly minimal from what we observed but it is happening out there with the 2" we received.</p>
We had a great time out today and had to overcome face shots :) We dug a quick pit and did primarily see an upright structure in the top meter of snow and got no results on a compression test. Had the conditions not deteriorate quickly, we would've looked a bit closer at some micro-layers we saw staining the snowpit wall. We still made conservative decisions as we skied today but did step up into a different level of terrain than we have been skiing so far this season.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>The new snow is quite reactive, especially where the wind has started to pack it into a more cohesive slab. Knocking off this shallow slab could easily knock you off your feet and lead to trouble. Be mindful and cautious out there.</p> <p>Conditions are very variable out there and we are not yet out of trouble with new layers of concern still being added to the mix in some areas (i.e. sun crusts).</p>
The snow surface is variable out there! We found the best skiing in the sheltered, northerly trees of Corkscrew Glades. In open meadows and gashes, the wind affect turned the riding conditions into a bit more of a rodeo ride with intermittent crusts and surface conditions bucking you around. The top 2-3" of snow was quite reactive at times and at one point, I was able to kick off a 5' x 5' slab of this new snow that had seen some wind affect. It was nothing to scoff at as it could easily knock you off your feet and send you into unwanted terrain and hazards with possibly poor outcomes.