Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Snowing lightly and blowing in the morning but decreased around midday as the sun started to filter through the clouds.
Surface snow was moist closer to the trailhead but dried out as you ascend in elevation, which was difficult to do at times due to tricky skinning on the slippery and firm 12/21 crust.
Dug around where you break out of the trees below Kendall peak (SW 4850') and found HS to be 196cm with ~35cm of F to 4F snow over the 12/21 crust. Small facets were found 1-2cm above the crust, which is easily identifiable. Test results produced a hard failure with a planar break.
No avalanches observed but I was able to trigger a small pocket on a test slope that had some slab-like properties. Pushed a little snow at lower elevations without much entrainment. Maybe if it was a sunnier slope or later in the day. Did notice a few rollerballs on the highway paths on my drive home.