Quick report
- Aspect
- Northeast
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2743 m
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Off the ridgelines, an entire snow pack of fist hardness. Along the ridge, a few 1 to 2" thick cracky harder wind crusts, and a few area with deeper wind drifted snow.</p>
Northerly facing slope, off the ridge line - a weak sugary snow pack. Though there are 3 distinct layers from the different small storms this month. With the current forecast, I expect the faceting to continue. While compression tests failed on the top of the basal facets, there was no propagation with Extended Column Tests. No surprise due to the lack of a slab.
I found a small, deeper wind loaded spot - that included a 4 finger hardness slab - and it easily cracked out to the ground. Only worry (besides hitting rocks and logs) would be a wind drifted area on a steep slope - probably fairly isolated.
But a sign of how dangerous this weak faceted basal snow will be once it gets a load on top of it.
Frost, with a sparkly snow surface behind - near surface facets and small surface hoar.
Snowpack
New snow from the 25th is starting to facet, with occasional patches of surface hoar. Only isolated wind affect along the ridge lines.