Quick report
- Slope Angle
- 38°
Avalanche
- Weak Layer
- Facets
- Trigger Type
- Skier
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 38 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- Persistent Weak Layer
- Start Zone Elevation
- 3078 m
A fresh coat of paint but the same February facets problem persists in isolated areas.
At this point N through E facing slopes above ~9000' hold this faceted layer with the last 2 storms' snow on top. In multiple Days Fork subdrainages that looks 8-16" of soft snow on top of the weak interface. As the slopes get more solar-facing, last week's temperatures turned the surface into a M/F crust and the underlying facets are either not present or much less of a problem.
The reason more slab avalanches are not happening is a lack of slab cohesion. Saturday night's snow came in light density with little wind and many suspect places I dug had the weakness for failure but not the propagation propensity. Clean planar ECTN 7 and 8 (shovel-width) and PST 25/100 (Slab Fracture) all failed on the Feb facets on high NE faces. Easy failure, little connection. Wednesday snow could tip the scales in some of these areas.
In travel we had 2 localized collapses, saw 2 small D1 skier-triggered slabs (Pics 1&3) and intentionally triggered one small slab (Pic 2 crown, pole 14" down in developed facets interface).