9:30am - No wind, clear skies, no precip
10:30am- light wind, clear skies, no precip
11:30am- light to moderate wind, broken skies, no precip
12:00pm- moderate wind, broken skies, no precip
Observation: Chugach State Park
Location: Peak 3
Standard up track to Peak 3 to look at facets around the Thanksgiving crust and to see how the recent wind event affected the snowpack. We had concerning pit results on a weak layer buried a foot or so deep and this points to the potential for a person to trigger a large avalanche.
Weather
Snow surface
The snow surface was wind-affected, with both scoured and wind-loaded areas. Inside the Peak 3 gully we found sheltered pockets of ~8" of soft snow.
Snowpack
Snow depths ranged greatly on our tour. We observed bare ground to over 4 feet in wind-deposited locations. We dug two snow pits, each on the same aspect and elevation band. Facets were moist at the base of the snowpack.
Snowpit Info:
Height of snowpack: 40-80cm
Location: Peak 3
Elevation: 3,000'
Aspect: W
Slope: 32 degrees
Test Results: We observed propagation (showing poor stability) on the thin layer of facets above the Thanksgiving crust (one pit ECTP3 and one pit ECTP26). These results suggest poor stability.
Snowpit data
Surface snow inside the Peak 3 gully
Eeva's snowpit location
View of Peak 3 from the base of the gully
Wind scoured Peak 3