Quick report
General conditions observed throughout the days tour; no prominent avalanche hazard; long sliding fall risk, and the risk of being swept off our feet by sluff were the main concerns for the day. 0900- Floor of Huntington Ravine- widely variable snow conditions ranging from firm dry sastrugi to refrozen surface due to warming on 3/11. We found the surface to be firm, frozen, and worthy of dawning sharps. 1030/1100- Upper choke of Yale gully- refrozen surface had begun to soften but moisture remained at the surface and solar effect had not radiated beyond the upper most surface layer, just sticking your hand in the snow showed a softened surface layer with dry consolidated snow beneath 1130/1200- Descent of Yale gully to floor of Huntington- Upper most reaches of Yale held a softened surface layer over dry consolidated snow, mid and lower elevations of the gully as well as the floor of the ravine were starting to show deeper solar penetration with some of the once dry snow becoming slightly more moisture laden. We observed no signs of instability but stayed vigilant of long sliding fall hazard and sluff management. Going forward; I would suspect the surfaces to refreeze with the depth of the refreeze (thickness of the crust) being variable dependent on the solar penetration. I would suspect this refreeze surface will most likely become our next bed surface for future avalanches during/after the coming storm cycle.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear