Observation: Turnagain

Location: Grandaddy

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Hiked up Bertha Creek to ski the Grandaddy. Was only able to ski the bottom 2/3rds. The top was not quite filled in yet. Riding conditions were good. Slightly wind packed, but not punchy snow. I did not see any natural activity.

Red Flags
Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.
Obvious signs of instability
Recent Avalanches?No
Collapsing (Whumphing)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?Yes
Observer Comments

I experienced a few shooting cracks on the NW faces of the moraines while skinning up the upper elevations of the drainage around 2700'-3000'.

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

New snow and wind transporting lots of snow. A few very light spin drifts coming down the couloir. My boot pack in the apron was filled in by the time I descended.

Snow surface

mildly wind packed, but consistent and great for snowboarding.

Snowpack

I dug a pit around 3500 just inside the mouth of the couloir. I found roughly 45" of snow on the ground. My pit results were CT22 Q2 it failed on a layer of graupel about 14" down.