Observation: Other Regions

Most of the snow in Turnagain Pass is windhammered above
treeline, especially on West and South aspects. Hard windslabs
vary in thickness from 1″ to 18″ thick. Quick compression tests
of the surface windslab at a different location from this snowpit
site (2100′ South aspect) produced solid Q1 shears. These were 1-
finger hardness windslabs 1 to 1.5 feet thick that popped off the
columns while I was cutting out the back. This is a huge red
flag that indicates these recently formed windslabs will easily
propagate fractures. These are actually the first Q1 shears I
have seen all season.