Tuckerman Ravine

Generally stable snow conditions were observed in Tuckerman Ravine today. Surfaces remain a mix of new snow, old wind slabs, and the 12/29 rain crust. The 1.1 inches of snow that fell overnight came in with realtively even distribution across Tuckerman Ravine. Boot penetration on exposed rain crust surfaces varied from 2cm to 15cm. This crust is becoming easier to punch through in areas it is exposed. The snow below this crust is unsupportive and faceting. When traveling on old wind slabs, boot penetration was minimal (2cm to 4cm). When assessing newer wind slab formation, boot penetration varied from 4cm to 30cm. Forecasters performed instability tests in a few locations in Tuckerman Ravine on easterly facing slopes at about 4800 ft of elevation. Hand shears and ECTs yielded stubborn, or no results, with some findings being non-planar. Check out our results below!

Overall, the inch of new snow from last night appeared to distribute itself uniformly across the ravine with minor drifting and scouring in places. This new snow is sitting on top of old, stubborn wind slabs. The 12/19 and 12/29 crust layers are more well defined and seperated by more snow in E facing aspects than S facing. 

Test Results from Sluice:

ECTX in two seperate snow pits. Similar snowpack stucture in both pits with different thickness of old wind slabs sitting on the old crusts.

Test Results from Chute:

ECTP15 down 30cm in density change in old wind slab
ECTP17 down 60cm on top of 12/19 crust. Small facet layer.