Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>D2 avalanche on Chilly Peak slabs on Saturday. Poor snowpack structure is the clean shears in several snowpits on a layer of preserved stellars (6-sided snowflakes) that fell earlier this week and were preserved with cold temperatures and clouds.</p>
The biggest issue we were finding today was the layer of stellars that were preserved underneath recent storm and wind-drifted snow the past few days. This layer is now 30-45 cms (12-18") deep, but deeper on wind-drifted slopes. We suspect this was the weak layer on the Chilly Peak slabs remotely triggered avalanche on Saturday.
We dug several quick pits and the weak layer was easy to identify with shovel shears and shovel tilt tests, but we were not able to get any propagation with ECTs. This weakness should heal within a few days, but before committing to any steep slope, I would dig down 30-60 cms and perform stability tests (CT, ECT, shovel shear, shovel tilt) and would avoid any steep slopes that are able to produce fracturing on this weak layer. I am especially wary of any wind-loaded slope.
Snowpack
Very low-density storm snow that fell overnight into the early morning, covering any wind drifts that formed during the day on Saturday.