No signs of instability on 1/6 or 1/7 on Manitoba... except the large to very large avalanches that occurred during the New Years storm (12/31 - 1/2) are still a solid reminder of deep problems in this area. See ob from 1/5 for images of these slides; in addition to that list, we noticed that the entire northerly aspect of Roaring Ridge had also slid during that timeframe.
Observation: Summit
Location: Manitoba
Manitoba to 3700′ on 1/6 and 1/7
Observer Comments
Weather
Single digits in the AM at the parking lot, increasing to teens by afternoon.
A thin layer of valley fog between 1500' - 2000', otherwise few clouds moving in midday.
Light north winds above 2500'
Snow surface
Surface hoar is growing and is now in the 6-8mm size range - larger near creeks. Otherwise, 3-6" ski penetration along the entire route with the snow surface faceting as well.
Snowpack
Dug a pit 50 yards below the ridgeline of the main west face at a shallow spot (110cm)... probing for several hundred yards revealed a height of snow generally in the 160cm range in this elevation band (3200 - 3300'), increasing to 200cm+ near the wind loaded ridgeline. See results below.
Snow structure at the location described above. The block dropped a solid 3cm when it did fail at the ground in one of two compression tests performed. No results on the ECT going well into overdrive... but the propagation saw test showed propagation potential for this layer!
Facets and depth hoar in the pit above.
Impressive surface hoar growth over the past three days!
Sky conditions for much of the day, with some approaching clouds coming in from the south and east