Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Snow Stability

Key Points

I toured from the Big Hollow campground in rock creek today up the east side of Red Mountain.

• Overall coverage in this area is quite thin. Periodic probing confirmed an average snow depth of 50-70 cm in areas that still have contiguous coverage. The deepest coverage I found today was around 120cm.
• For the most part, the snowpack here is faceted throughout with the exception of a variety of surface crusts. Thin Melt freeze crusts and wind compacted surfaces were quite common in more shaded areas.
• Some patches of small surface hoar littler the more shaded areas as well.
• Solar aspects are burned out to bare ground for the most part.
• I dug a pit a little below 10000′ on a NE aspect and confirmed the entire snowpack in this location to faceted to some degree. the surface Wind board crust is decomposing nicely and the basal facets in this area are quite large. Stability tests highlighted the Basal facets as the layer of concern (ECTP17). While results were sudden in nature I would also describe them as non-planer. see pit for more details.
• Descending via a generally east-facing gully above 9000′ I noted the more southerly tilted side provided sun softened snow with a supportable and predictable feel albeit far from a stability concern. More northerly tilted slopes provided a challenging mix of decomposing crusts and unsupportable facets.
• Below the mid-slope bench at about 9000′ all bets were off. The snowpack in this location is largely faceted and unsupportive with the exception of the punchy crusts on the surface. The reemerging rocks and bushes and the overall shallow nature of the snowpack made for some harrowing sliding conditions.
• No signs of instability were noted on my tour today however the variable, shallow, and challenging surface conditions leave plenty of factors to consider.