Recent Avalanches? | No |
Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Standard uptrack to 2700′. Getting overall sense of snowpack depth and structure. Checking out wind effect in the alpine. Did not make it high enough to find the dry basal facets that were observed above 3000′ on Summit Peak.
Recent Avalanches? | No |
Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Cracking in wind stiffened snow and easy to trigger wind slabs on test slopes.
Wind transport of snow throughout the day
Light snowfall
Gusty NE winds
Temperatures: 36F at the parking lot, mid 20Fs at the ridge
1300': 2" of moist snow
2000': 4-6" of moist snow
2500': 5-8" of soft snow in protected terrain. Scouring back to crust and drifting in exposed areas
2700': Stiff wind drifted snow and rimed rain crust.
See photos:
Pit @ 2000': Surface snow is moist and bonding well to supportable crust below. Moist snow to ground
Pits @ 2500': HS 90 cm. Moist snow and layers of crusts and melt forms that haven't frozen (blue goo) to ground including moist rounding facets over basal crust. No notable test results in two pits on NW aspect.
Pit @2700' : HS 130 cm. W aspect, 24* slope, 1F slab over stellars on a rimed rain crust 45 cm down ECTP 13, CT 13 SC x2, CT 3 SC
Snow depth is quite variable due to wind scouring and loading.
1350' snow depth and coverage
2000' snowpack and recent snow on crust
Snowpack @ 2500' NW aspect
Layers near the surface. Soft snow over crust from hard taps in shovel tilt
Wind effect on small slope heading up the ridge
Triggering small slab and cracking while ski cutting test slope on the way down
More wind effect heading up the ridge
Exposed rimed rain crust along the ridge
Snowpack 2700'
2700': Slab in the snow pit failing on layer of buried stellars over buried rimed rain crust. ECTP 13, CT 13 SC x 2, CT 3 SC
Avalanche activity from the 12.9 storm on Colorado Peak
Wind transport