Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Skinned up to a saddle at 5300'. Stuck to low angle terrain for the most part. New snow was relatively dense. Dug a test pit on a NE facing 25 deg slope at 5300'. HS ranged from 180-190 cm. Overcast skies, calm winds, air temp -2 C at 8:45 am. 40-50 cm of storm snow ranging from fist to 4-finger density over 12/9 crust. Tests did not indicate propagation or concerning shear quality and I did not observe any shooting cracks, whumpfing, or other obvious signs of instability. Snowpit tests and cutting above my skin track did reveal an inter-storm interface about 25 cm down that was moderately reactive. I would imagine it was the result of a subtle density change in the new snow. Summary of test results: Shovel shear test failed on 1-2 mm faceted grains above crust with moderate to hard pressure. CTM down 25 cm on an inter-storm snow layer, Q2 (PC). Subsequent loading steps produced CTH down 40 cm, Q1 (SP). ECTN18 down 25 cm, Q2 (PC). Subsequent loading steps produced ECTN28 down 45 cm, Q2 (PC).