DATE OF OBSERVATION: 03/13/2015
NAME: DR
ASPECT: South West, West, North West
ELEVATION: 8800-12000
AVALANCHES:
WEATHER: Mix of everything except cold today. AM was partly cloudy with strong solar until noon; winds were calm and temps were 4ºC. At noon it was snowing lightly (S-1), light winds and temps were 2ºC. Less than 1cm of snow fell, with some graupel mixed in. Sun returned around 2PM, strong solar produced local “tornados” on rapidly heating west aspects. Temps jumped to 6ºC quickly. Warm, sunny and calm into the evening.
SNOWPACK: Schmoooo! Toured up on a crust that was at least 2cm thick and still hard until about 2PM. Descent on NNW aspect had 10 to 15cm of ski pen in moist snow, getting pretty wet below 10,000’. Climbed out of gully on a steep (37º) east aspect and felt some collapsing under a surface crust, but nothing moved – no real signs of instabilities. Final descent on a west aspect showed no signs of instabilities even though it was 40cm of stiff, but moist snow over weaker snow to ground.
UPLOADS: