Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Although I have been hearing several people reporting collapsing, despite my best efforts, I have gotten zero collapses in my weekend travels.</p>
Excuse the poor photo, but view of pit with full propagation with extended column tests down near the ground.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>As Drew noted so well, there is quite a bit going on in our thin snowpack:</p> <p>- at the base of the storm snow is a layer of graupel that falls out of the sidewalls of a pit. It is still easy to get shears at this layer;</p> <p>- this graupel layer is either on top of a crust or sitting on top of a layer of facets from the Nov 4th storm;</p> <p>- underneath this is a very variable layering of disintegrating crusts and facets, with chained depth hoar down near the ground.</p> <p>The two things that concerned me today were:</p> <p>- found evidence of what appears to be a second remotely triggered slide in Catherine's Area. This was on a steep north aspect at 10,100' and likely occurred during the day on Saturday. (With no reports, we are unsure.) This failed 60 cms (2') down on a layer of facets just above a September heat crust.</p> <p>- I was also able to get full propagation with extended columns on similar slopes, failing down at this faceted layer near the ground. These were ECTP21/22 Q1.</p> <p>I think triggering slides on these northerly aspects is becoming increasingly unlikely, but if someone were to trigger a slide - even a small one - it would likely be up to 60 cms (2') deep and will involve lots of buried rocks and tree stumps.</p>
With a cold, clear sky on Saturday night, the snow surface has begun to facet. Southeast through west was damp this afternoon, and will likely be crusted by Monday.
[Comment - Although there is only a marginal snow cover, we actually have a very interesting thin snowpack right now. This is a great time to get educated on various weaknesses in a snowpack such as facets, facet/crusts combos, graupel, and depth hoar..... it's not as if you're missing out on great skiing.]