Skyland/ Puzzle Burn

We snowmobiled and skied into the southeastern, most-Continental-snow-climate part of our forecast region to see how the snowpack compared. 

• No evidence of recent avalanches on a clearly visible, upper elevation leeward ridge with very steep start zones. Or on any other visible avalanche paths.
• The snowpack is slightly shallower than elsewhere in the region (HS 80-100 cm) but is structured similarly. 
• In two profiles (SW, 6400 ft ; NW 7650 ft), we found two thin weak layers.
• Only the upper one (down ~20 cm in the lower profile and 40+ cm in the higher one) produced clean shears and/ or propagation in our tests. This is the 12/7 layer. 
• The other pwl is small, rounding facets above the November Atmospheric River crust or wind slab, depending on location. This did not produce clean shears or propagation in tests.
• Today's winds were building shallow, soft but (currently) unreactive drifts at the ridgeline. 

While the snowpack in this area is a little shallower, the structure and hazard seem similar to other parts of the zone. 

Stomped on short steep test slopes and small cornices and drifts cross-loaded into burn and at ridge with nary a crack or collapse.

6400 ft, SW: HS 85, about 20 cm of F hard new and recent snow above 12/7 layer. CTE 9 SP. 4F down to AR crust (4-5 cm), ~7 cm 4F snow, then 30 cm refrozen MF grains to ground.  

7650 ft, WNW, crossloaded slope on windward side below ridge crest: HS 180 cm. 40+ cm F to 4F precip/ decomposing particles above 12/7 facets and buried SH.  ECTP 15. The 5 cm above this layer are slightly harder - 4F+ - and breaks out of blocks. The AR event here shows as a dirty, Pencil+ hard wind slab. Though we didn't test below this layer, we poke and probed and found no depth hoar at the base.

The surface snow is dry and loose at all elevations. About 7 cm from Hwy 2 to Challenge; about 15 cm in Puzzle Burn.