Tenderfoot

We toured up Tenderfoot today to 3,600' on the ridge in the fog. There was a crust up to 3,000' from the warm storms last week with just a trace of new snow on top and some needle surface hoar up to at least 2,500'. We dug three snowpits today, one at 2,000' in the meadow and 2 in the alpine at 3,100' (one on the north side one on the south). We found generally stable conditions up to 2,500' where the crust became thin and breakable. Above that elevation snowpit tests were stubborn or stable indicating improving stability in the Summit Lake area. The riding conditions on the ridge were good with a just a little snow on a firm surface. Riding below 2,500' became more challenging where there were old frozen tracks to navigate. 

There is a thick crust in the lower elevations making for generally safer conditions. Above 2,500' there is a greater chance a person could trigger an avalanche on the December facets, but stability is improving. The crust starts to thin above 2,000' gradually. At 2,400' it was 1' or so thick and barely breakable. We dug three snowpits. In the pit at 2,000' there was 3.5' (110cm) of snow. We got an ECTP30, but these tests are questionable when there is such a thick crust present that has to be cut to perform the test. We dug two pits in the alpine, one on the north side and one on the south. In the south pit at 3,100' there was 5' (150 cm) of snow and we got stable results (ECTX, PST80/100 END). The December facets were 2.5' (75cm) down in this pit. In the pit on the north side there was 3.5' (100cm) of snow and the results were mixed (ECTP23, PST60/100 END). Snowpit results in Summit Lake recently are indicating the December facets are becoming more stubborn to trigger by a person, which is good news. The slabs that are sitting on those facets are very firm, however, so if a person were to find a thin spot and trigger an avalanche on this layer it could have very serious consequences.