Small loose snow sluffs visible.
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Sunburst
Toured standard uptrack of Sunburst looking for any obvious signs of instability, buried melt freeze interfaces, and any other layers of concern in the snowpack. We first dug off the skin track around 2250′ and then again past the rocky knob around 3500′, both on SW aspects.
Glide cracks on Sunburst SW face below weather station may be growing.
Observer Comments
Weather
Few-Scattered Sky
No Precip
Calm to light winds
Low-mid 20s
Snow surface
Low-density new snow/settled powder from the road to the ridge line, increasing as elevation increased. (storm total ~4"-12"). Very little wind effect on the most recent new snow (Dec 16 snow), which was around 6-8" above treeline.
Snowpack
Found a consistent melt-freeze crust on the ground beneath a generally right-side up snowpack from the road to 3500'. No notable pit results in layers we have been tracking. Could not find the Nov 23 buried surface hoar in either pit.
Pit #1: Lower W Sunburst - 2254' - W Aspect - HS: 75cm
ECTN24 down 45cm on 1mm small grain facets. This failure was directly above the basal melt-freeze crusts.
Pit #2: Upper SW Sunburst - 3530' - SW Aspect - 27 degree slope - HS: 160cm
CT24 down 40cm, failed on decomposing fragments from a prior storm snow interface.
ECTX
Sunburst Coverage
Seattle Ridge Coverage
Magnum coverage
Opening Glide Crack Sunburst compressed
Sunburst Pit #1
Sunburst Pit #2