Observation: Avalanche Professional

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Snowpack Observations

We toured from Paradise up to Alta Vista, skied down into Edith Creek basin, and then up and over down to 4th crossing. The storm snow was soft and deep where sheltered, however the recent wind was strong and moved/drifted snow not just at exposed ridgetops, but often mid-slope, down gullies, and between tree coverage, creating alternating pockets of unaffected soft snow and firm wind board and/or breakable wind crusts. We observed limited cracking, generally just underfoot, but I was still wary of stepping out on to more exposed wind-loaded slopes where cracking might be larger.

We also dug a pit on the east side of Alta Vista, see photos for pit profile. Generally speaking the top 100 cm of snowpack was an alternating mix of soft snow and MF crusts changing, with a very firm icy base from the past dry spells.