Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

We traveled on low angle terrain below treeline between 5000’ and 6200’. West winds remained ever prevalent along the ridge line with gusting. While the precip remained mostly snow, graupel, rain, and other forms were mixed in depending on elevation and time. Snow on all aspects became increasingly heavier throughout the day. The snow on N to NE aspects at 6000’ skied well. A light zipper crust from the sun was covered with 2-4 cm of new snow on S to SSW aspects.

We dug a pit at 5800’ on a NE aspect finding the mid January crust 80 cm from the surface. The snow depth was 200 cm. We performed ECTN 9 and CTM (14) BRK both at 25 cm, likely an interface between the two recent storms. The CTN/ECTX relative to the crust. A deep tap test may have been a better test for the crust. A quick glance at the crust suggested rounding facets. This layer may become more reactive with increasing weight with the incoming atmospheric river.

We also observed the snow line to be 4600-4800’.