Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

Skied the same zone on the E side of Table Mtn Friday and then again today. On Friday, I climbed to about 11200' and skied a NE-facing chute. Soft snow on top of wind board was abundant anywhere N-NE aspect and the powder was about 1' deep at 11k'. Friday was very warm and below 9k' at 11AM, even partly shaded aspects were cooking fast and I cut a few wet loose slides off skiing an E facing small chute near some rocks.

By today, winds (maybe the Friday night wind event?) had changed surface conditions quite a bit on the shady aspects. True N slopes no longer consistently held soft powder, even in the trees. My skin track from two days prior was completely filled in. These wind slabs were often very firm to completely supportable. We produced short shooting cracks occasionally, but no large panels moved. Eventually we found a swath of soft powder on a NE nose which provided a fun descent, but that good route was probably the only nice way down from our highpoint. We had to boot a short section of SE slope around 9600' because cloud cover and cold temps kept the surface crust frozen into the mid-morning; under the crust we found a deep layer of slightly damp facets.

Signs of Unstable Snow