No cracking or collapsing was observed today.
Observation: Hatcher Pass
Location: Marmot
Went for a quick tour to see how the 5″ of new snow was bonding. Conditions made for good riding but flat light and hidden rocks made navigating slopes tricky.
Observer Comments
Weather
5-6" of new snow at marmot parking lot this morning. While touring the wind remained calm for the entire day. As the day progressed cloud coverage began to dissipate with the sun beginning to peak out by the early afternoon.
Snow surface
5-6" of new low density snow has hidden lots of rocks. While trail breaking today old hard slabs and bottomless facets could be felt underneath new snow.
Snowpack
In the location we dug our pit we had poor structure, moderate strength, and moderate propagation potential. Shovel tilt tests showed that new snow is not bonding to old snow interface. The 11/6 layer and depth hoar near the ground were reactive during tests. We did not find any signs of wind slabs from high winds yesterday. With all this new low density snow dry loose avalanches could be a problem in steep terrain.
Marmot 3500'
West 33°
HS 120
ECTP15 on depth hoar 10cm from ground
ECTP13 on 11/22 rounding facets 60cm from the ground
IMG_7072
Chained Depth Hoar