Quick report
- Aspect
- North
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2957 m
- Slope Angle
- 32°
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>We triggered a couple nice audible collapses in low angled drifted areas. Wind drifting was quite apparent, with fresh mostly fairly shallow drifts and wind slabs forming.</p>
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Old and fresher wind slabs could be a problem in drifted upper elevation terrain.. Wind slabs formed and were forming on weak faceted snow , which is fairly deep (around two feet of sugary structureless crap) and widespread in the region. </p> <p>Most of the suspect steep upper elevation slopes that I've recently visited remain untracked and untested because the snow is so shallow and weak and you'd hit rocks if you tried to ride your sled on them. In some areas, a denser and stronger slab layer sits atop very weak faceted snow creating dangerous avalanche conditions. These areas aren't all that widespread or easy to identify, but dangerous, high consequence triggered avalanches are certainly possible in some drifted upper elevation terrain. We often refer to these conditions as pockety or the terrain as having pockets of more dangerous conditions....</p>
Wide variety of snow surface conditions, but mostly supportable. Lower angled meadows and gentle east facing slopes offered the nicest snow for riding, with fast and smooth shallow powder conditions in many areas. The very weak snowpack is generally very shallow, with less than a meter of total snow even at upper elevations and more like two feet in most areas.