Lobster Claw

We skinned up the Tuckerman Ravine Trail from Hermit Lake. Knowing we’d have good visibility, we were looking for evidence of natural avalanches from the few days and distribution of wind-blown snow. 

We found small, isolated pockets of smooth, bright, wind-drifted snow throughout the ravine but saw mostly textured, wind-affected snow. This textured snow was not only at the ridgeline but was seen throughout mid-elevation terrain (3500-5000ft). There were old crowns in Chute and Left Gully that presumably cycled yesterday or the 24th and ran on the rain/melt-freeze crust from 12/19. 

We discussed feeling comfortable moving through terrain, but that we would assess the softer and deeper areas of snow, and our greatest concern would be finding that in steep convex terrain. 

Although we did not dig a pit or perform formal stability tests, traveling on skis and sticking our poles and hands in the snow in the area below Lobster Claw gave us an idea of the surface structure. Ski penetration ranged from 0 on the MF crust to 5cm in wind-drifted snow to boot top in drifts. A wind crust was somewhat supportive in places ranging from 2 to 8cm thick with varying depths of unconsolidated snow below down to the crust. 

There were areas of poor structure that we encountered; however, these were small and identifiable by smooth snow that was soft and generally in deeper pockets. The poor structure was most pronounced here. We did not encounter any evidence of propagation potential, but if you were to find similar structure in steep terrain, that is an area to assess.