| Recent Avalanches? | No |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | Yes |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observation: Summit
Location: Fresno Ridge
Toured from MP48 up standard Fresno Ridge skin track. Continued on through the rolling hills section to treeline and dug a pit at 2,800′. Skied back direct to highway.
Obvious signs of instability
Observer Comments
After reaching the broken treed / meadow sections at approx. 2,200', stomped on some small features with obvious wind loading. Observed fractures approx. 10cm deep that were stubborn to trigger, and broke only directly under our skis. These fractures did not shoot ahead or behind us.
Weather
Sky: Overcast
Temp: -2C to 0C throughout the day
Wind: Light from the N
Precip: None for most the day, beginning to snow very light as we skied out.
Snow surface
Approx. 5cm of new snow over large buried surface hoar.
Ski pen. = 12cm
Boot pen. = to ground
Snowpack
See pit photo and profile (photos 1 and 2)
We observed the several layers of buried surface hoar described in previous obs, including the large buried surface hoar near the top of the snowpack immediately below the newest snow (photo 3).
Our tests did not result in failures at these buried surface hoar layers, but rather in the basal facets at the bottom of the snowpack.
CT12 @ 13cm, Q2
ECTP29 @ 13cm
PST 45/100 @ 15cm on bottom layer of facets.
Snowpit photo
Pit profile
Large buried surface hoar immediately below new snow