Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

We traveled a variety of aspects between 3500-6200' today. We avoided the maelstrom of wind-loading and tricky visibility that hung roughly north and south from Mt.Gardner, throughout the day. Solar slopes in our location experienced warming / refreezing, while colder aspects stayed dry. Minimal wind transport in our immediate area, but snow was obviously moving along the high ridge crests to the west. (see photo)
Snow depth ranged from 120cm to 220cm in this typically shallow snowpack zone.
The crust from the Feb.22 storm, recently buried on Feb.25, existed up to about 5000' in the area, with 25-30cm overlying with a good bond.
A profile at 5400' on a sheltered NE aspect held an HS of 200cm. No concerns existed within the upper snowpack, in the absence of wind loading. In the mid-pack, down about 90cm, the Jan.24th interface is still evident by hardness and grain type. It overlies the easy-to-identify Jan.14 crust.
In this location, Deep Tap tests yielded Hard, Sudden Planar results. Closer inspection showed a mixed bag of rounding facets and decomposing surface hoar (2-3mm) at the interface. These results are consistent with other locations well-east of the crest, with reactivity decreasing in deeper snowpack areas.

We ski-tested steep, unsupported, but lower consequence features in the Near Treeline elevations with no results, other than very manageable sluffing.
Cognizant of the persistent grain types in the mid-pack in such areas, wind slab and dry loose activity from overhead alpine features were still our main points of avoidance today.