Anthracite Mesa

Recent storm snow seems soft enough to produce less sensitivity than expected in sheltered terrain.  Only a slight increase in slab stiffness would make triggered avalanches likely.  I suspect that very steep features would produce avalanches in the storm snow, but the soft slab would limit propagation until more snow accumulates in sheltered terrain.  Basal weak layers continue to improve where the snowpack is deep and uniform but collapses happen once you find shallow places from wind effect. 

We didn't cross any drifted slopes, just small pockets of drifted snow, but I would expect to find reactive slabs in the upper snowpack where the wind stiffened the snow or from increased storm totals.

 

While moving through sheltered terrain with depths greater than 5 feet we did not experience any signs of instability. As soon as we found stiffer, drifted snow it was easy to produce cracking down to the weak 2/2 interface. While moving through shallower, wind-stripped westerly terrain, we experienced a few moderate sized collapses on basal weak layers.

In sheltered terrain, the recent storm snow remains mostly fist hard with a thin amount of 4 finger hardness.  We didn't get any propagating results in ECT tests as the slab is soft but the surface hoar at the 2/2 interface was relatively small, 5-7mm.  Once we found drifted snow it was easy to get cracks down to the 2/2 weak layer.  Locations with a shallow snowpack due to previous wind with a depth less than 4 feet continue to produce collapses on basal weak layers.

Thin, soft crusts have formed on the south half of the compass below treeline.  The shady side of east and west remain dry with nice ski quality.