Observation: Turnagain

Weather:
Almost blue bird (a few upper elevation and low hanging clouds) with 2-3′ of
right side up powder above 1,500′. Light ridgetop winds from the northeast.
Temps in the teens. What more could you ask for?

Signs of instability:
-Sluffing in the loose unconsolidated powder was fairly easy in steep terrain
(40 degrees and over).
-Very small (4-6″ x 20′ wide) wind slabs on a few ridges that saw a bit of wind
night prior.

Very limited and localized cracking on a few ridges and no collapsing.

Surface conditions:
1-2′ powder atop a crust below 1,500′.
2-3+’ powder above 1,500′. All snow found was right side up with little wind damage.

Concerns:
Lingering wind slabs and large sluffs were our main concerns. Wind slabs were
very shallow and hard to find. Sluffs were small to medium. Secondary concern
was the Mid-elevation buried crust that harbors a thin layer of weak snow on
top. It’s now buried 2-6′ deep and still no avalanches in the Turnagain area
have run on this crust to the best of our knowledge.