Date of Observation: 01/27/2016
Name: Zach Guy
Aspect: North East, South East
Elevation: 9,000- 12,000 ft.
Avalanches: None
Weather: Clear, calm winds, warm temps at higher elevations
Snowpack:Â See video. Â In general, the Jan 14th layer is pronounced and weak (F+ hard, 1 to 1.5mm facets) on southeast and northeast aspects, but this area hasn’t seen the snow load yet to test it, except perhaps on heavily drifted areas. Fist hard soft slabs above the layer were <30cm deep and not reactive in pits and showing no signs of instability, except in a drifted area on a SE aspect NTL, which showed propagating results above the Jan 14th crust. There are multiple new crusts forming above the Jan 14th layer on sunny aspects. NE aspects look like they will be the first to shed if we see a big load.
The rest of the snowpack was faceted out below that layer. Most of these paths appeared to have run during December. Surface hoar/near surface facets forming on shaded aspects.