Sanders Peak

Wet loose avalanches on south and southwest aspects were the primary concern in the strong sunshine today. We triggered one wet loose avalanche that was small but easily big enough to knock you off your feet. The wind slab and persistent slab problems are well on their way to stabilizing. Buried weak layers are gaining strength and signs of wind slab instability were limited to stubborn cracking in cornices. 

We skier triggered a small wet loose avalanche on a steep upper elevation south aspect on Sanders Peak. We only observed minimal natural rollerballs. Other than some stubborn cracking in cornices, we did not observe any cracking or collapsing.

South and southwest aspects warmed up in the strong sunshine today and developed wet loose instabilities. The light to moderate winds kept the snow cooler near ridgelines, but the surface snow became wet lower down on slopes. East and southeast aspects generally stayed cooler and did not develop wet loose instabilities. North aspects held cold, dry powder and great skiing conditions. 

We dug a snowpit on an east aspect at 7800 ft on Sanders Peak. The total snow depth was thinner than what I have found in other zones recently, only 130 cm. However, buried weak layers have gained strength and did not produce any results in an extended column test.