Public Observation

Observation Details

Observations

A group of 4 of us skinned out from 395 to ski down chicken wing. We traveled up via the North ridge / North face. Repetitive pole probing along the skin track, from the skate track up to the summit and then back down along the E face while skiing, into untouched powder yielded a deep, asymmetrically soft and crunchy-feeling layer at the bottom of the snowpack lying above what I assumed to be the ground. Usually my entire pole would travel down to the bottom of the snowpack...I would extend variably between 130 and 140 cm. I noticed no large avalanches on the way up but there is an apparent cornice at the summit that appeared NE-E facing with an overhang seeming to be the potential crown of a small wind or storm slab av...I didn't get close enough to look any closer. Along the skin track, likewise, I noticed quite frequent cracks that were isolated. No whoomphing. On our way down we traveled down the E then NE aspects until getting back onto the skate track. While skiing down, ski penetration appeared to be 8-10 inches. We didn't notice any avalanches of any size but the powder was quite untouched, having started around 9 AM only a couple days after the storm. We didn't encounter any sharks.

Signs of Unstable Snow