Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/24/2017
Name: Evan Ross/Blase Reardon
Date of Observation: 02/24/2017
Name: Evan Ross/Blase Reardon
Subject: Human triggered windslab
Aspect: North, East
Elevation: 9,000-11,350
Aspect: North, East
Elevation: 9,000-11,350
Weather: Overcast sky. Light winds at ridgeline. Periods of S2 snowfall for up to an hour. A little green-housing when the clouds would temporally break.
Snowpack: BTL: The upper snowpack lacked any slaby feel unless on the isolated wind effected terrain feature.
Snowpack: BTL: The upper snowpack lacked any slaby feel unless on the isolated wind effected terrain feature.
NTL: Classic terrain management for windslabs. Testing the windslab boundaries near ridgline we triggered a 35-40cm deep slab while hiking up. This was an easterly aspect at 10,650 right at rideling. A few collapse where felt in the area previous to the triggered windslab. Mid February well developed near surface facets were the weak layer, under the most recent very soft crust. Current HST was about 20cm at noon, in that slab.
As we transitioned to northerly terrain. The older NSF was less pronounced surprisingly, and buried deeper. Hand pits produced shears on the most recent old now interface. We mostly just avoided any windslabs and didn’t gather much for targeted observations to the problem in that area.
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