Observation: Turnagain

Weather:
Sunny, cold (single to minus single digits), calm wind.

Signs of instability:
Recent Avalanches – YES
Sunburst – small skier triggered soft slab, SW face 14-16″ deep and 15′ wide.
Tincan – several small skier triggered pockets released on SW face of Tincan.
These were viewed from the sunburst ridge and looked to be around 20-50′ wide,
crown depth uncertain.

Yesterday’s avalanche activity:
Below are a couple photos of day old avalanches from 12/15. These are believed
to have been remotely triggered from a party on the ridge. Specifics in photo
captions.

The weak layer in these avalanches appeared to be weak snow right above the
December crust. The new snow had lost much of the slab characteristics it had
yesterday (thanks to the cold and clear weather).

Cracking: No
Collapsing: No (However, talked to a party that had several large collapses on
the NW lower shoulder of Magnum.)

Snowpack:
The 15-18″ of storm snow from the weekend has settled several inches in the past
day. See settlement cone picture. Total snowpack depth above treeline was 2-3′
deep. The drizzle crust (5mm thick) from early December was very prevalent under
the new snow. Weak faceted snow made up the bottom of the snowpack under this
crust. The weakest layer was right below the Dec crust.