Observation: Public

Observation Details

Observed Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

6-8" of new snow made for excellent skiing and riding conditions today. Our early season snowpack that survived last weekend's deluge is mostly 1F-P hard melt forms. The transition to snow late Monday evening seemed to happen fast enough to insulate and prevent a nasty ice layer from forming. I didn't dig to the ground but a quick hand pit revealed consistency in firmness for at least a foot into old snow. It's hard to imagine that water percolation didn't make it to the ground in all but maybe the deepest drifts. The 6-8" of new snow was moderately dense and bonded well to the old snow interface.

East and South aspects were taking some heat from solar this morning. Roller balling and point releases were observed as early as 10am. Loose wet avalanches were small, ran sluggishly, and even with entrainment never exceeded D1 in size. West and North aspects remained cold and dry.

I also observed what I believe was probably a wet slab release from a steep and rocky North facing aspect at around 5500'. The initial release appeared to run over some cliffs and trigger another small pocket in the apron below. I wasn't able to get a look at the runout or debris.