Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

NTL E.N.E. 35 degrees slope- Winds from this week had redistributed snow on this specific slope. The past weeks faceted surface snow has been scoured from the decomposing Nov 5th crust and drifted in cross loaded and upslope directions. This formed thin shallow wind slab ( Photo #2) and thick firm lenses of snow in leeward catching features. Tracking pockets of resilient and wind protected facets from early this week was very difficult. Visual snow depths ranged from 30cm (12") to approx 1m+ ( 39").

Overall it was very difficult to decipher the best snow texture for soft turns. Sporadic snow density & ski penetration made riding style challenging going from settled recycled pow to hard wind board to breakable thin windslab thrown in with a random death cookie frozen underneath. Interestingly the best snow was about 300' above Bagley Lakes where cold air and calm conditions kept the snow silky smooth.

Trip Options Catalog: Since this weeks warm temperatures settled and melted our snowpack, old glides and loose wets (release date Nov 3rd & 4th AR?) are visible in typical slide areas. This was an obvious and good reminder of the terrain and types of avalanches that can regularly occur on specific slopes. (Photo #1)