Quick report
- Cracking
- widespread
- Collapsing
- isolated
I ascended the TRT from Hermit Lake to attempt to make new snowfall observations en route to Tuckerman Ravine. Due to intense winds, significant, highly reactive windloaded snow, continued snow transport, limited visibility to actually make any safe observations from a distance, and occupational responsibilities, I opted to turn around near the rescue cache. I encountered intense winds and significant wind loading particularly on south and southeast slopes, and on some east facing slopes. Wind loaded snow ranged from 4" - 10" deep, though some drifts were 1-2 feet deep or deeper. Even along the lower angle trail, the windslabs were highly reactive. Almost every step on windslabs led to several cracks in all directions, often several feet long. While I didn't make direct observations in Tucks, I assume there is significant and highly reactive wind loading in various south, southeast, and east facing terrain (and possibly other aspects as well), and while some scouring may occur, likely the continued snowfall and transported snow will lead to continued loading throughout the day. Overall my impression of stability is that the new wind loaded snow is highly reactive to human triggers.