Below treeline snow favored area

Location: Paradise Divide Area
Date of Observation: 02/10/2020
Name: Eric Murrow
Subject: Below treeline snow favored area
Aspect: North East, East, South East
Elevation: 9000′ – 10400′

Avalanches: none observed

Weather: Overcast skies, light continuous snowfall, and light winds near valley bottom. Visibility was obscured but I could hear some strong winds up high; in the afternoon observed lots of blowing snow on Whetstone around 400pm.

Snowpack: Traveled through below treeline terrain checking out the upper snowpack and more specifically the 2/3 interface that was buried by last week’s healthy accumulations. On E and NE slopes there is around 40cm settled snow resting on top of 1-1.5mm facets. The slab is up to 1f hardness. Snowpack tests revealed moderate propagating results. Stomped and snowmobiled on numerous short test slopes without signs of instability although slopes were small and well supported.
Took a peak on a SE facing slope testing the same interface and got similar moderate propagating results. Oddly enough slab failed on top of the 2/3 melt/freeze crust even though weak facets were present directly below the crust. I experienced one small collapse on a SE slope, but it was not particularly loud and did not produce a crack; I suspect this was the uppermost crust that formed on 2/8 not the more concerning crust from 2/3.
New snow accumulations resting above the 2/8 interface were pushing 6 inches as of 230pm.

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