Quick report
- Aspect
- Northwest
- Red Flags
- Poor Snowpack Structure
- Elevation
- 2804 m
- Slope Angle
- 22°
Snowpit on a northwest facing slope at 9,170' in elevation. Height of snow was 39" (100cm). There were a series of density changes in the the top 12" of the snowpack but no results on these layers with stabiliity tests. The layer of concern was 10" (25cm) from the ground in the middle of a layer of dry loose faceted grains that were showing no signs of rounding. We didn't get propagation until later (28 and 32 taps). Based on these results and the thin snowpack we stayed away from slopes over 30 ° in steepness.
Quick hand pit showed thin snowpack with very weak snow. This east facing slope was on a steep roll (greater than 35 °) but did not have enough of a slab to create an avalanche and is the type of place I would watch as we add more snow and wind.
Photos of snow coverage in burn zone and wind scoured ridge at 8,500'.
Overall Moderate avalanche danger in mid elevations. We stayed out of the high elevation terrain. Lower elevations in this areas did not have enough snow to pose much of a hazard, although we avoided terrain under steep west-north-east facing avalanche paths or in terrain traps, like stream beds or gully features.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Dry loose facets near the ground on east and north facing aspects. With a thinner snowpack there were many places where it was difficult to travel without hitting down stumps, trees, and rocks. Higher elevation zones held loose dry facets near the ground but the slab was supportable enough in most places that we weren't sinking through to those facets near the ground. Steeping off the snowmobile in thinner areas (less than 2') it was easy to posthole right to the ground. We observed no cracking, collapsing, or whumpfing. </p> <p>Shallow new snow drifts on east facing slope above 9,000' (photo below)</p>
Snow surface was 4" of new low density snow in protected areas and soft wind drifts or scoured in other locations. Nearing 9,200' in elevation there were exposed east facing slopes with old stiff wind drifts near ridgelines.