Snowpack

Observation: GE Hill

Darce Trotter / Steve CoteSkyline
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Quick report

Aspect
Northwest
Red Flags
Wind Loading, Cracking, Collapsing, Poor Snowpack Structure
Elevation
2804 m
Slope Angle
25°
Red Flags Comment
<p>We had a couple of collaspses on uptracks, once you punch through wind slab 6-8" thick, pack is hollow and faceted making trail breaking a good workout. In very sheltered areas, just plain sandboxing in lower layers, leaving uptrack nearly 2' deep. </p>

Square survival turns in widespread wind slabs

Snowpack

Instability Comment
<p>widespread wind slabs overlying hollow faceted snow as described in forecast</p> <p>Cold weather and long time between storms has done little to strengthen layers, best described as upside down from the dirt up in sheltered areas, to wind slab over facets elsewhere</p>

We found every type of snow conditions imaginable, widespread wind slabs with wind-loading in all North points of the compass, winds terrain driven near Electric Lake were from the SE and seemed due S on the top of Canyon.  We went in search of more sheltered low angle terrain after survival turns down our first stop, and we found what we were looking for, but sandboxing uptracks were the norm everywhere.