GTNP - Shadow Peak

We dug in a couple of locations to look at the buried facets associated with our persistent slab problem. This layer was formed during the January drought and is buried 12 to 20 inches (40-50cm) below the snow surface in this region.

In areas that had been previously exposed to the January wind events, this doesn't seem to be as much or a problem. We found some faceted grains, but overall places like this do not have the right combination of slab and weak layer to produce avalanches.

Once you drop out of wind and sun affected terrain, the old snow interface is much weaker with 1mm, fist hard facets making up the concerning part of this interface. The slab has settled and is cohesive enough to produce propagating results in ECTs. Other places in the region such as south of Teton Pass, the west side of the Tetons, and the Snake River Range all seem to have weaker snow. This is not to say that the January Drought Layer isn’t something to keep on the radar around GTNP.

This setup is concerning, but why aren't we seeing avalanches everywhere? One thought is because of spatial variability. I am talking from one side of a slope to another. In many places, the weak layer was disturbed and it doesn't have the connectivity to produce avalanches. Another reason could be that the slab is lacking the right properties to propagate a crack on a slope scale (make an avalanche). A significant loading event would change up this dynamic. These are just a couple theories rooted in snow scientology. Really, the take home is that if we get a lot of snow in a short period of time, then steep north facing terrain from 8,000' to 9,500' could be a bullseye for avalanche activity. Stay tuned!