Quick report
Observed various noted conditions in 02/06 report at various elevations from SR-2 to Union Peak via Smithbrook Trail/Union Gap, then Jove Peak via its west ridge. The road to Smithbrook TH was stout in the morning, but off-piste under the trees was incredibly unsupportive deep facets when booting. Areas out in the open on existing sled tracks were supportive in the morning in areas. I put my snowshoes on once I arrived at the trail because the snow was not conducive to booting: the upper layers were a mix of shmoo and corn conditions in late morning with various weak melt forms underneath. Snowshoe pen was 6~10cm below 4.8k’. Ascending and traversing the ridge was doable, but time consuming even with snowshoes since it was hard to guess the conditions: some spots were knife hard ice; some were shmoo; some was zipper crust. Finding the bonus holes around buried trees and cornices was exciting to say the least. In general the snow had a supportive base (where nothing lurked beneath), with either a stout crust out in the open, or a weak/punchy corn snow top layer. The former was generally found in the shade/on the northern portion of the compass dial, but not always, and the latter was mostly found out in the sun/the south portion of the compass dial, not surprisingly. The corn snow top layer was prone to sliding (wet loose), but I mitigated the risk by digging down to the consolidated base layer with my snowshoe crampons. I used a similar technique when descending Union Peak to the forestry road, but paused periodically to observe the snow and planned my exit route carefully due to terrain trap risk. Lots of open holes, running creeks, large glider cracks, broken cornices, and bare patches of forestry roads. Very reminiscent of March/April conditions in a more average year.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Type
- WL
- Aspect
- SE
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 4700 ft
Unsure of exact trigger. Several cornice crowns were visible along the ridge, but they looked older than the slide shown.