Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Key Points

I made may way to the sherwin ridge this afternoon above mammoth rock hoping to get a feel for any new wind slab development as well as to track on surface conditions in preparation for our incoming storm.

Significant wind transport at all elevations and resulting deposits were found in leeward areas. The most significant deposits i observed were actually below treeline in cross-loaded terrain features. Deposits ranged in size from 2-6″ and I would consider them reactive verging on stubborn. I did not find anything of concerning size, instead sheets of recent deposits broke off in chunks (diner plate-kitchen table sized).

While notable amounts of blowing snow were observed along the ridge near 10,000′, I did not observe any concerning wind slab development. Surface conditions in these more exposed areas were. composed of hard (pencil to pencil +) and supportable wind board and freshly deposited snow seemed to sluff off the start zones and pool in less steep areas further down the slope.

I also noted that the snow being blown around was made up of “large” grains and seemed to be faceted to some degree. Thus, it was not incredibly cohesive.

Surface conditions were somewhat variable, particularly in more exposed areas, but even in more sheltered areas there was some wind effect on the surface snow. I did however note surface and near surface faceting throughout my tour at all elevations.