Observation: Turnagain

Location: Upper Lyon Creek

Date:
Observer:
Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Snowpack

Snow surface was somewhat variable, including areas of both breakable and supportable windslab. We dug a pit at 3,000'in an area of generally nicer snow. Aspect due west, slope 32 degrees. Total snow depth 275 cm. 1.3 m pit. there was an interface with old facets and softer snow at ~1.15 m. No failure on this layer, even in shear. We were somewhat surprised by the other results in our stability tests. At this site there was a reactive layer down ~30 cm that failed under moderate force in both CT (13) and ECTN (15) tests. The surface was clean and planar but not particularly fast. It had small (1mm) faceted grains on the surface. Right above the failure surface was a 10 cm thick 1F layer, right below the failure surface was ~85 cm massive slab, 1F to P.