Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The north-facing bowl we skinned up was almost completely scoured of new snow close to the ridgeline, and fresh cornices were visible above south and east facing slopes.</p>
Traveled on predominantly north and west aspects from 7,000 feet to 10,100 feet this afternoon. New snow seemed well behaved in areas we toured. Encountered some shallow wind drifts on SW and N facing slopes but these were shallow and not sensitive to our weight. No cracking was observed. I would expect a different story on slopes with more of a south or east aspect given the fresh cornices we observed and the predominant wind direction during the storm. All new snow fell atop a layer of crust, becoming more stout with elevation. The new snow was deep and dense enough to keep you off the crust while both skinning and skiing.
Snowpack
In general seemed like about 20 inches of snow above 9,000 feet. Snow was moderate in density, with a little bit of wind affect in places and a skiff of graupel on top. The snow was right side up in sheltered areas but felt a little punchy where the wind got to it, which in areas we traveled was only within about 200 vertical feet of high ridgelines. Below about 7,800 feet the new snow was starting to feel damp.