Observation: Middle Cirque

Snowpack

Instability Comment

<p>While skinning in Upper Middle Cirque I encountered old, hard, wind drifted snow. These drifts were at least 2-3 days old, probably formed Friday night into Saturday when there was a bump in the Southerly winds. Older drifts are generally harder to trigger, but this gave me some concern today. As I walked onto it from below, I heard the classic hollow, drum like sounds. With a hand shear I was able to pull the slab out with Moderate force and a Q2 shear. I found small grain facets (0.5mm) beneath the slab (down 29cm). These are the first facets I have seen in a while. I dug a hasty pit several hundred feet below this one and I did not find this structure, no wind slab and no facets. This seems like an isolated problem in Northerly aspects ATL. Certainly something to be aware of, as I know people have been getting into some extreme terrain lately. Keep an eye out for areas of wind drifted snow, if you find it, dig down and look for facets. </p> <p> </p> <p>This is on a NE aspect at 11,750 ft. Slope angle is 36 degrees.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p>