Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
- Collapsing
- isolated
Small shooting cracks 2-3 feet long in isolated wind loaded pockets on the skin up. Experienced a few small collapses in shaded west facing terrain from 9000'-10,000'.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 10
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Recent Snowfall
- 8"
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Cold winter-like temperatures. Periods of light snow showers (S-1) and sun. Light ridgetop winds at 10,000'. Calm below ridgelines.
Snowpack
About 8 inches of new snow in the past 24 hours (0.55” SWE). Lower density at 7%. Mostly loose/unconsolidated. Minimal slab development and wind-loading was observed in this area. Harder wind slabs 6-12” thick that formed on 2/17 were observed below the new fluff. They were isolated to terrain close to the ridgeline and appear to be bonding well.
The January Drought Layer (JDL) was found down about 18-24 inches (40-60cm) in north facing terrain at 10,000’. I dug two pits. One in a sheltered spot down about 50 feet off the ridge and one in a loaded spot just below the ridge. No propagation in either pit.
The JDL was significantly weaker in the sheltered location. Preserved surface hoar and well developed facets were found here. Despite the concerning weak grains, this pit lacked a cohesive enough slab above the weak layer to propagate a crack. Avalanches could fail on a variety of interfaces here given a large enough load. The wind-loaded spot had a cohesive slab above the JDL, but the weak layer was not well preserved. Plenty of spatial variability out there.
Avalanche
- Size
- D1 R2
- Type
- SS
- Aspect
- N
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 10000 ft
One relatively small soft slab in very steep terrain (~40 degrees) on the north facing side of Angle. Failed mid-slope, but it was difficult to see the crown. About 12-18" deep. Happened sometime before, or during, the last pulse of snow. 2/17 or 2/18. Probably on the large side of D1 given the look of the debris pile. SS-R2-D1-N-?