Snowpack

Observation: Alexander Basin

GraingerSalt Lake
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Quick report

Red Flags
Recent Avalanches, Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comment
<p>Multiple paths naturaled during the last storm cycle in upper Alexander, in Depth Hoar Bowl and East Bowl.</p>

NE face at 8100', inconsistency in small-grained facets. ECTP9 here.

Snowpack

Instability Comment
<p>There is a lack of larger basal facets at this elevation but the crust is still present, mostly on the ground. The weak smaller-grained facets are inconsistent from 7000'-8000'+ but still weak where present. Tests showed failure on this layer in places and lack of failure in others. A NE-facing location at 8100' showed side-by-side ECTP9 and ECTX because of this inconsistency. </p>

Traveled up Alexander Basin from the bottom to see what lower-to-mid elevation snowpack looked like.  Last week's storm snow has settled significantly, added to the 4F+ --> F slab on top of deeper persistent weak layers that were increasingly present as I gained elevation and stayed in the N-->E aspects.  Young surface hoar present in isolated protected areas.