Quick report
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
Haven't been in Days or Cardiff this winter and wanted to get a look around. Noted both RR (radiation recrystallization) on steep southerlies and very small non-alarming diurnal facets where they had eaten away at some wind effect. The first photos are RR; the second photos are of the diurnal variety. Both RR and melt layer facets form in over-drive due to the radical energy transfer during phase change (liquid to ice). The photos paint that well. They are much larger and more angular in nature.
In some isolated and thinner snowpack areas, the snowpack has begun to completely facet completely. Mark White has described this structure in No Name, etc. It's a tactile thing - we call it "sandboxing" where you're climbing up and finding only weak purchase through the weak cohesionless faceted snow. Video below. Areas that harbor a great deal of sandboxing are suspect with future storms and prone to avalanching.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>In general, the areas with the season's snowfall have gained a great deal of strength within the snowpack. Thinner, rocky, outlier terrain harbors more facets and more question marks. Found upper elevation northerly areas in Banana Days that had run previously with an HS of about a meter. Plenty of facets within this structure, but any sort of tests brought out discontinuous and variable shears at best.</p> <p>Most of Wednesday's wind drifts are welded in. Still, large wind drifted, unsupported terrain should be avoided as a rule. See photo below. </p>
Surface snow weakening somewhat; more below.