Quick report
- Collapsing
- isolated
1.8 inches of SWE in past 72 hours. (1/8—1/11)This fell cold, then warmer, and then cold again. Trail breaking was labor intensive in the still upside down snowpack, skin track was refilling with strong cross winds and 1inch an hour rate of snowfall. We stayed out of avalanche terrain, and poor visibility prevented us from getting a look into any steeper terrain. Still very thin conditions with both my partner and I hitting buried rocks and logs multiple times. Low density snow was easily being transported and creating smooth wind pillows masking the buried rocks and logs. We avoided lumps rather than launching lumps and avoided torpedoing into the deep snow and stayed “light on our feet”. Although improving, this area still needs more consolidation and settling before its “game on”. Isolated collapses during ascent but not widespread like the past few days. Snowpack wasn’t screaming today, but still talking if you listened carefully.
Snowpack
Dug a quick pit on an E/SE aspect at around 6600’. HS 120 cms. Roughly 60 cms of new in past 72 hours. Weak layer was at interface of old/new snow. Stability tests showed an ability to easily propagate but this area lacked a cohesive slab.