Observation: Public

Observation Details

Observed Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Observed lots of wide crowns from the recent cycle. Many of these encompassed complete terrain features. Many had filled back in with new and wind drifted snow.

Observed soft slab debris likely from a more recent small D2 natural (within past 3 days or so) from a NE facing chute off a ridgeline at 7,200ft.

Snowpack in the area ranges from 130cm to 170cm depending on elevation and wind exposure. The warmup during the 12/21 only left a density change above 5k, below that it's a very thin but discernable crust. Not thick enough to make any difference for layers below.

On the surface, SE-SW aspects steeper than about 20 deg have a solid suncrust, with dry snow above it (didn't pull out the lens to look for RR).
Scattered surface hoar w/ average size from 3-5mm on shaded and sheltered slopes, mostly near and below treeline. Some small diurnal near surface facets in similar locations.
Wind packed and decomposing fragments in many areas in the alpine. On a slope that previously slid during the cycle we found about 20cm of low density snow over bedsurface, which was a ~10cm layer of P hard dry snow (no crust observed, perhaps it got taken out with the slide in this case).

We found the 12/9 layer down from 55cm to 80cm, presenting as a range of crust/faceted melt forms. In some places, weak snow beneath a thin, decomposed crust was concerning. In other places the crust was stout with weak snow above it being more the problem. Most of the large , obvious starting zone features have already slid on this layer, however, I think the less obvious, mid 5k to 6k slopes in clearings and sparse forest are candidates for avalanching on this layer going into this next loading cycle.