Quick report
- Red Flags
- Heavy Snowfall, Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Checking lots of boxes today. Did not see any new avalanches today, but high elevations were obscured due to low vis. Touchy conditions (and powder skiing) kept us from venturing higher. </p> <p>Snowpack structure continues to be poor with underlying facets basically everywhere, as evidenced by sand boxing, pole probing, and hand pits. The snowfall amounts reported locally for the last two days verified; we picked up another 5" or so while we were out, and it was still snowing when we left around 330pm.</p> <p>Noted evidence of wind loading and wind affected snow from yesterday beneath the new snow, but did not witness much, if any, wind transport of snow today.</p> <p>Experienced ample cracking/collapsing/whumpfing. Collapsing happened easily at low elevations, including several test slopes from N to E quadrant of the compass, one of which cracked approx. 10 meters long.</p> <p>At mid elevations, this pattern continued. However, in zones with particularly firm wind slab (P hard) below the new snow, collapsing did not occur. Also experienced a large collapse on a 25 degree SE facing slope ca. 7900ft, several hundred square meters. </p>
Photo of large collapse on a 25 degree SE facing slope ca. 7900ft, perhaps 25m x 10m or more. Red lines indicate extent of collapse area--basically this entire slope (and a bit more lower out of frame).