Quick report
The new snow is dense and heavy, and accumulations increase with elevation. Below 6400 ft, we found very few signs of recent wind loading and the new snow generally appeared well bonded to the old snow surface. We didn't observe any wet loose avalanche activity, but a few rollers started shedding under our skis in steep terrain by late morning. These high-density accumulations have greatly improved surface conditions above 5500 ft.
Weather
- Air Temp
- Low 30s
- Cloud Cover
- obscured
- Wind Loading
- light
- Rain Elevation
- 5400
- Recent Snowfall
- 7-18 cm
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Snowpack
While the base area only picked up 3 inches of new snow, I found more inspiring amounts above 6000 ft, where 6-7 inches of dense new snow fell. Below 6300 ft, there were very few signs of recent wind loading, and the new snow generally appeared well-bonded to the old snow surface in the areas we traveled.
Digging down below the surface on a NE aspect @ 6300 ft, I found an HS of 190 cm. In this location, the 7 inches of new snow was sitting over a layer of denser, dry snow from previous wind loading. On my last trip here, the snow surface was quite sugary and faceted, unlike what I found at this pit location. However, snowpack tests did highlight a weak layer of mixed forms roughly 35 cm below the surface. While this layer didn't fully propagate, it failed through roughly 3/4 of the block. The 1/3 crust is about 3 ft below the surface in this location, and I did locate some slightly weaker snow above and more well-developed 1 mm FC below the crust. It didn't produce any results with ECTs. I didn't have enough time for a PST, but this would have been a more productive test to check propagation propensity due to the depth.
I don't usually go to the same field location back-to-back, but I wanted to track how the new snow was bonding to the weak snow surfaces I found on my last trip to this location. In general, it seems that the near-surface faceted snow I found in recent days is quite isolated across northerly terrain. What seems more consistent in the locations I dug so far is weak snow adjacent to the 1/3 crust and a layer of mixed forms 30-40 cm below the surface. Hand hardness and snowpack tests can help highlight these interfaces.