Quick report
Yesterday's snow came down wet and heavy with mild winds and wind loading, covering the crust with 2-4" on all aspects down to ~5500' (snow line was ~5000' but had varied throughout the day). Very good stability while touring and skiing. Gradient from dust on crust conditions, to new snow being heavier/moister and having a crust on top of it, to more spring-like conditions at the mid elevations where new snow and crust were both a little moister. ECTX; planar fracture with shear pressure at the thin crust 75cm down (likely a very decomposed surface hoar layer). Snowpack very stable today, but warmer conditions yesterday had enabled numerous wet loose slides.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 28
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- light
- Rain Elevation
- 5000
- Recent Snowfall
- 10
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Partly cloudy earlier in the day with good visibility, but clouds/fog rolled in around noon and it began to snow.
Snowpack
Snowpack had refrozen overnight (temps <0 degrees C throughout). Yesterday's 3-5" of new snow has bonded well to the thick supportable crust just below that. The 50 cm below the crust were very saturated, but below another thin crust ~75 cm down snowpack was moist but not as saturated. Snowpack still maintaining structure and firmness. ECTX, but planar fracture with shear pressure at the thin crust 75cm down (likely a very decomposed surface hoar layer).
Avalanche
Noted several small to mid-size wet loose slides and glide cracks that had occurred on 3/24 at mid elevations.