Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Saw a lone size 1 pocket that pulled out of the apron at the base of the Baldy main face. Appeared to be skier triggered; suspect wind was a contributing factor. Photo below. </p>
Photo of the small avalanche on Baldy (size 1 NE aspect ca. 10,400ft), with trees and skiers for scale. Also worth mentioning it's still early season conditions, with shallowly buried rocks up high and stumps, brush, etc. down low.
Snowpack
Snow surface was medium density powder in protected zones, and a bit firmer in wind affected zones. Snow transport was occurring throughout the day, though not at particularly prodigious rates.
About 25cm of new snow sat atop the same snowpack structure recently reported elsewhere (dense and wet at the ground capped with crust interfaces). The base of the new snow featured significant graupel on the crust. Surface snow was not particularly well bonded to the old crust, sliding easily with the usual informal tests such as hand pits (failing on isolation) and stepping above and below the skin track.
There was variable cohesion in the storm snow, but wind affected snow definitely made for a stiffer, though still soft, slab. In wind affected areas, I managed to break off the occasional chunk the length of my skis. With the exception of the one slide already noted, there was insufficient energy for propagation where we traveled (we didn't see any cracking).