Quick report
Riding conditions have improved immensely with 8-10 inches of cold, blower snow above the recent crust. Unfortunately, this low-density new snow sits over surface hoar and weak-faceted snow just above the early February crust (EFC). This setup isn't too problematic in more sheltered areas at the moment, however, it could be a problem in wind-loaded terrain or once we add more water weight and form a cohesive slab over this structure.
Spoke with a group of snowbikers who reported shooting cracks and touchy wind drifted snow along Darland Ridge.Weather
- Air Temp
- Low 20's
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- light
- Rain Elevation
- 500 ft
- Recent Snowfall
- 20-25 cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Light snow showers throughout the day adding up to another inch. Poor visibility limited observations above 6000 ft.
Snowpack
Key Takeaways:
- Outside of wind-loaded areas, new snow (20-25 cm) is low-density and lacks slab-like characteristics outside of drifted areas.
- New snow sits over buried surface hoar and 1 mm facets just above the EFC. I found this setup on all aspects I traveled, including south. Since we don't have much of a slab on this junky setup, I received limited signs of instability in sheltered areas.
- We lost a lot of snow during the most recent AR. Solar aspects hold a lean snowpack ( < 1 meter) with many shallowly buried objects present. I wouldn't recommend riding off-piste until 5500 ft. You can find a deeper snowpack on N-E aspects, ranging from 150-200 cm.
- We have a weak structure moving forward. Look for and avoid areas (specifically wind-loaded aspects) that hold a cohesive slab over the SH/facets.