Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

I skinned to Lanham Lake, and continued past that up toward the saddle south of point 5575. From the lake onwards I continuously assessed the upper snowpack in open meadows by digging quick pits and doing hand shears to assess weaknesses within the new snow and its' interface with the crust beneath. Areas clear of trees had 6-10" of snow overlying the crust. The snow was mostly F, sometimes slightly increasing in hardness as it reached the crust. In at least 3/4 of my quick pits the snow was well bonded to the crust. In a few pits there was a thin layer of 1mm facets just above the crust and failures occurred easily on that layer, but I did not find it spanning large areas. The crust was slowly breaking down, and snow was weak beneath that layer, 1mm F facets. If I isolated a column through the crust, sometimes the column failed easily on the underlying weak snow. However where I travelled I did not suspect or find widespread failures beneath the crust at this time.

I chose to travel off the well beaten skintrack above the lake to see if any whumphing would occur, but aside from very small localized failures beneath the crust in the vicinity of my skis, I found no widespread failures. At ridgeline there were old cornices indicative of previous wind, however everywhere I travelled including the ridge the new snow had not been wind affected, and there were no wind slabs. The only signs of avalanches were old ones from the atmospheric river, covered with new snow.