Quick report
A quick Christmas tour to look at sunny slopes near treeline to figure out which aspects are most likely to form a Persistent Slab problem if a slab forms in the near future. South and southeast aspects have robust crusts near the surface, but crusts quickly thin and become problematic on east slopes. Northerly slopes in this area are faceted with buried surface hoar down a handful of inches. The few inches of snow made a nice improvement to ski quality.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 7
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Snowfall began mid-morning and increased to moderate rates between 10 and 1230. By the time I left the area around 2, it had become light.
Snowpack
3 inches of new snow by 1 pm at 11,400 feet.
Buried surface hoar is visible about 8 inches down. The surface hoar rests above 1 - 2mm facets on the lower angled slopes I looked at (no previous avalanche activity. I didn't get on any steep slopes on the north half of the compass.
On sunny slopes around 11,400 feet, I found thick, supportive crusts on south and southeast aspects (see images) and thin, soft crusts on east that faded away to facets as I rotated towards ENE. The crusts on the south and southeast do not appear collapsible. However, the few inches of new snow resting above them may be problematic as more snow accumulates over the next few days.