Carson Pass

We went to Carson Pass to observe the new snow in elevations above 8,000'.  Along the drive through Hope Valley, we saw most avalanche activity produced during the storm had been covered with fresh snow.  Crown lines and debri were not easy to find.  We could see the affects of the wind on the snow surface and in the trees; it was scoured to dirt on some windward ridges. The only avalanche debri we could find was a D2 produced during the storm, triggered by a cornice failure on a NE slope along the crest. 

We dug multiple pits on a north aspect Near Tree Line, in a location with heavy snow deposits. The average height of new snow was 160cm, with a boot pen of 65cm and a ski pen of 25cm. The snow is becoming more supportable as it settles. We dug our pits in areas where the Feb 10th facet layer was closer to the top, 115cm below the surface. The pit showed resistent planner results within the new storm snow. We did not see propragation with either the ECT (2x) nor PST.  A hand hardness test showed the new snow progressively getting firmer to 1F+ above the rain crust. All pit results were at interfaces where the hardness became more firm.  I felt like this location was a good test of weak layers within the new storm snow.  The new snow/ old snow interface was so deep, it was hard to impact it with a CT and ECT. 

We found a location to cut a cornince onto a test slope.  While stomping on the cornice, we felt a significant collaspe of the surrounding area and heard a large whump. In this specifc location the Feb 10th facet layer was only 100cm down and easier to trigger.  This was a great way to observe what a large weight load would do to the snowpack.  The results from this test slope showed that the weak layer is present. This was the best result we found today.  

Both Powder House and Water House were parked out. Most of the other spots had few / no BC travelers and the alpine terrain looked relatively untouched. 

We kicked a cornice as a test slope, which triggered a large whump and a sudden collaspe if the surrounding terrain. The weak layer was the Feb 10th facet layer, below the crust; which was down 100 cm. Rough estimate is that the collapse traveled 50-80 feet away. In the video, you can hear the whump at second 4 and see snow fall out of the cornice as the weak layer propragates towards the camera.