Turnagain Pass

The buried surface hoar remains a nagging concern in the snowpack. Don’t forget this layer is on all aspects and continues to show propagation potential in test pits above 2000’. The other important thing to note is the slab character is becoming denser with recent wind events, which means the slab could break above you once well onto the slope.  During the past two weeks, many popular slopes have avalanched (removing the weak layer), and been covered again by recent snow. This makes it really hard to know the full extent of which slopes still have this weak layer set-up, especially in places that haven’t seen much traffic. Most of this activity has been on the popular Southwest slopes of Sunburst and Tincan and little is known about places less traveled. Yesterday digging on a section of terrain that hasn’t slid on Sunburst but has seen some skier traffic showed the surface hoar was still easy to distinguish in the snowpack and still reactive. The presence of the surface hoar should be part of your slope choices today and be something you keep in mind when we get our next loading event.  Manage your terrain and use safe travel protocols. 

• Expose one person at a time
• Group up in safe zones
• Have an escape route planned
• Watch your partners and where other groups are around you

Buried surface hoar in a snow pit at 3200′ on Sunburst, December 6th.

The winds yesterday calmed down by mid-day. Monday night into Tuesday morning they were strong enough to transport soft snow around, filling in tracks and depositing snow on the leeward side of terrain features. Today two types of wind slab are still possible and warrant caution if venturing into steep wind loaded terrain. Softer more tender pockets of wind slab may break from your skis/board while traveling. These may still be large enough to knock you off your feet or surprise you in the wrong place. In addition stiff old wind slabs from last weeks wind event may pop once you are farther out onto the slab and can be tricky because of the supportable character. Be wary of hard over soft snow, hollow sounds and steep slopes with obvious deposition in the start zone. These wind slabs have the potential to be deeper and harder to manage. 

 Cracking along ridgeline on Sunburst yesterday

Sunburst with wind effect and old tracks