Quick report
- Red Flags
- Wind Loading, Poor Snowpack Structure
Toured up beartrap around noon hoping for a few inches of cream before the fireworks started. Precip was heavy around 11 when we approached but tapered to trace by noon. All new snow was either wet ice particles or grauppel. Winds were mild to none in the valley but 15-20 gusting 30-40 at ridgetop. SE slopes were being loaded most heavily. While the wet nature of the new snow was making for a right-side-up structure in sheltered areas, the wind-transported snow was a bit density-inverted. We only traveled on the South half of the compass where NSF and surface hoar have been less prevalent. I expect that wind-slab formed on steeper W-N-E slopes is going to be quite reactive tomorrow.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Rapid windloading noted predominantly onto S-SE-E aspects. While only about 1" of snow had fallen by noon, wind favored areas were accumulating a 4f slab of 12-14" wind transported snow. There was some minor cracking noted, but no shooting cracks or propagation.</p> <p>Yet to pick up in PI while we wre out (too bad eh?) but what snow had fallen was dense and wet, and well-adhered to the underling snow surface. </p>