Observation: Turnagain

Location: Cornbiscuit

Date:

December 23, 2015 2:00pm

Observer:

Mathew Brunton

Route & General Observations

Cornbiscuit to 3520′. Skied SW and N aspects from around 3500′.

Red Flags

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Observer Comments

None

Weather & Snow Characteristics

Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.

Weather

Partly cloudy. Breezy on ridge but not moving any snow during daylight hours (no wind loading). Breeze was dismantling some upper elevation surface hoar at sunset.

Snow surface

Calf deep trailbreaking through light powder with large surface hoar at all elevations and across all aspects we traveled.

Snowpack

Low volume, human triggered sluffing off steep terrain on all aspects encountered. Snowpit: 3520', west aspect (260 degree), 39 degree slope, 207cm height of snow, CTM (17) Q2 & ECTP 21 Q2 down 52cm from surface at weak interface within recent snow (wind slab), CTM (12) Q2 down 100cm from surface on BURIED SURFACE HOAR (PERSISTENT SLAB). This layer is still exhibiting energy. Unfortunately, ECT results for propagation propensity at this layer not reliable due to depth and difficult isolating column.

Photos & Video

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Cornbiscuit persistent slab (1m deep) on buried surface hoar at 3520', west aspect

Alaska Avalanche Information Center staff digging on Cornbiscuit

Large surface hoar (~1-2cm, standing and intact) in the upper elevations on Cornbiscuit

Cornbiscuit snowpit at 3520', west aspect, 39 degree slope

Location

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