Quick report
In general snow below ~4600 feet lacked structure and the majority of snow was cohesionless, wind-drifted snow. Snow above ~4600 feet seemed to have more reactivity with multiple groups finding shooting cracks and slabs in both Left Gully and Right Gully. Slabs were actively forming, but generally were small and disconnected.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 6 cm (5:30 am Hermit Lake)
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Consistent light snowfall throughout the morning that increased in rate (S1) in the afternoon. Increasing winds in the afternoon as well, with moderate winds and strong gusts observed in the ravine.
Snowpack
General snow depths 5-30 cm with isolated deeper areas closer to 40 cm. The depths were variable with areas exposed to the 3/14 melt-freeze crust (date it was buried this was formed from previous warming and subsequent freeze).
Some isolated areas had slight structure developing in the top 3-5 cm but this was still soft and lacked propagation. Started finding areas with a bit more structure ~4500 ft, but this was also in treed and protected terrain. In most areas the surface snow would more easily shed as small dry loose directly under your feet and did not entrain additional snow in the Broccoli Trees between Lobster Claw and Right Gully.
Snow was actively being blown around and drifts continued to grow.
Speaking with numerous parties that traveled higher, surfaces continued to vary in depth with areas of exposed ice and areas of soft snow, generally ankle to boot top in depth. These areas of deeper snow were patchy across the gully and highly variable in both Left and Right.
Left slabs were found higher in terrain and were generally thin and disconnected. In Right Gully snow was actively loading and as you moved higher snow was more slab like in structure and multiple groups mentioned shooting cracks.
We discussed moving higher to assess these forming wind slabs, but due to our group size and numerous groups in both Lobster Claw and Right Gully chose not to enter terrain with overhead hazard we could not easily see.
The problem seemed to be forming in the top 1/3 or so of gullies, as winds continue to increase this problem may grow from patchy and disconnected, to large and form lower in terrain.
In most areas found soft snow on top of the 3/14 melt-freeze crust. As winds increase and slabs thicken and harden, there is a set up for strong-over-weak structure if the soft storm snow is preserved.