Weather:
Overcast skies, light and variable winds, light snow with graupel in the afternoon.
Signs on Instability:
No cracking, collapsing or recent avalanches.
Snow surface conditions:
1-2″ of light snow on a supportable crust up to 2,500′. Above 2,500′ 2-4″ of light snow sits on a
disappearing crust by 3,000′. Best skiing was above 3,000′, though not nearly as good as the reports are
from Hatcher Pass the past few days…
Snowpack Obs (photos below):
I dug in three locations today specifically targeting the Late January Facets in the mid to upper-elevations,
this is where they have been proving to be the most concerning. Pits were at 2,900′, 3,200′ and 3,500′. In
short two main changes were seen that are stabilizing the pack – 1) the slab appears to be deteriorating
and loosing its strength and ability to propagate and 2) the faceted weak layer is compressing and
becoming a harder layer of snow (1 finger harndess vs fist).
The above snowpack obs are all great signs pointing to stability, but I would still be wary of areas where
the slab is hard, on the thin side and the slope is steep.
