Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Key Points

I went to Chicken Wing today to check on the sensitivity of storm slabs and wind slabs.

• Heavy snowfall through the middle part of the day, with a break in the late afternoon.
• Storm slabs were touchy with a max depth of 25cm
• Southwest winds on ridges were forming strong and cohesive layers of wind deposited snow in leeward terrain
• NTL I experienced cracking on a test slope that broke on layers below today’s storm snow
• The new /old interface was not supportable to skis and ski penetration was up to 5o cm
• Trail breaking was difficult due to the “upside down” structure of the storm snow.

This was the kind of day where having three pairs of goggles would not have been a bad idea.