Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: More of the same. Upper snowpack continues to decompose and facet as the most recent snow since 2/10 continues to break down. Small sluffs were the only observed avalanche problem.

At 11,600ft northerly facing slopes on the ridgeline and above the start zones, glanced at a previously excavated snow pit and saw a very obvious layer of surface hoar down about 35-40cm’s. Didn’t spend much time, but that was some of the most concerning structure I’ve seen in a long time. Hinting at what may be possible to encounter. Observed several old crowns in the terrain that are mostly filled back in now. Looked at one of these old crowns and surface hoar was the weak layer, again about 40 cm’s down. Targeted a 39 degree slope that didn’t have a crown. 2/8 SH was down about 50cm and 1/19 SH was down 100cm. Both of these were back to being difficult to observe without column tests, unlike the more obvious SH in the pit in low angled terrain above the start zones. ECTN on the 2/8 SH. Informal deep tap ECT for the deeper 1/19 SH had no result. A single CT produced no results. Multiple tracks in the terrain with some on features of concern produced no results. Below 10,800ft the snow surface was covered with large surfaces hoar on these northerly slopes.

Avalanches: Skier triggered several dry loose avalanches on very steep, northerly facing terrain N/ATL. One of these sluffs pulled out a small wind slab, about 10″ thick. All were D1 in size. No other signs of instability. Plenty of older avalanches from the past week or so, dry loose, wet loose, storm slabs, etc, but nothing ran today that we saw. See photos.
Weather: A few bands of clouds passed over mid-day, but overcast skies didn’t start building until 3:30 p.m. Warm day. Southwest winds began picking up in the late afternoon, light to moderate. No precip.
Snowpack: Northerly aspects: the snow surface is .5 – 1 mm near surface facets at all elevations, capped by a thin wind skin above treeline, and textured by wind in some places.
Southerly aspects: Crusts softened mid-day but refroze into a thick melt-freeze crust, (5 cm or thicker), did not observe any facets above or below the crust where we traveled. The crust was mix of textured and slick. One slope holding a thin melt-freeze crust (E facing) had facets below the crust.

This was a wet loose avalanche that ran earlier this week off of an E aspect NTL, but appeared to gouge out a persistent slab on a NE aspect, about 10,000 ft.

The wet loose cycle was more impressive here. More widespread D1.5’s and D2’s as there was more storm snow to entrain in this area.  East, South, and West aspects.  

Skier triggered loose snow avalanche pulled out a small wind slab on a high elevation, northerly gulley. This slab appeared to be an isolated instability in the terrain that we traveled in.

Some old storm slabs that probably ran last weekend.

Glide cracks are appearing on a lot of slopes. Yikes.  Sluff management required on anything steeper than 40 degrees today.

Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: On Mt. Axtell, we found two reactive surface hoar layers in the upper snowpack on a NE aspect NTL. Moderate compression test results clean shears on a layer of surface hoar 25 cm deep (CTM 15, Q1), and two taps later, another failure on another surface hoar layer a little deeper.  We moved to an east aspect and dug 3 CT, no surface hoar in any of those pits, and capped by a sun crust.

Avalanches: Saw debris and paths of wet loose slides that had previously released from far skier’s left side of Redwell along the cliff bands
Weather: Light west winds, clear, very warm.
Snowpack: No signs of instability except for previous wet loose point releases, the 30cms on top from our most recent storm had surprisingly little funk to it and skied great.

We dug a pit at the top of wrong chute: Elevation 11,200ft, N/NW, 35 degree slope. Our compression test revealed CTH SP, 95cms down on a layer of 2-3mm surface hoar interlaced with 1mm rounds. We also had a result of ETCX.

While the buried SH wasn’t super reactive in our tests, it was definitely still present in the more sheltered northerly aspect NTL that we dug our pit in.

Avalanches:
Weather: Melanoma inducing weather. Calm wind.
Snowpack: Upper snowpack contenues to lose strength as the decomposing and near surface faceting processes continue. Less of a sluffing issue today due to more wind effect on the snow surface. Didn’t encounter any small wind slabs like yesterday, but suspect you could have found a small slab in the right terrain. Maybe terrain with more cross loaded features. No other signs to instability, felt like low danger travel advice. Old snow interface was down about 25-30cm. CTM RP on decomposing stellars on this interface. ECT Break.

Didn’t spend to much time on due easterly slopes. Though I was feeling like I wanted to get off them by 11am. Mostly as previous wind deposited slabs started to warm and get thick.

Avalanches: Wet loose D1s off UUWW terrain and East face of Owen.
Weather:
Snowpack:

Avalanches: None
Weather: Clear & warm & calm
Snowpack: ~25-30cm refreeze last night
no signs of instability
SE-SW @ 8,800-10,400 SH was burned off but found it on W & N aspects
W aspect @ 9,360, @ ~13:00: SH (~5-10mm) & FC ~5cm deep on top of 3cm MFcr, then 5cm FC on top of strong MFcr

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Avalanches: A handful of recent wet loose avalanches on steep sunny slopes from the past few days. One full depth glide avalanche and one narrow wet slab avalanche, both on easterly aspects BTL, ran sometime in past couple days. No signs of instability where we traveled except some rollerballs on sunny slopes.
Weather: Light NW winds, clear, warm.
Snowpack: Widespread, well-developed near surface facets (1-1.5mm) and patchy surface hoar layer (2-5mm+) on the surface on all shaded or low angle terrain. At lower elevations, this is above a thin, soft melt-freeze crust, with facets on both sides of the crust. As we gained elevation above 11,000 ft, the snow surface was denser, with some wind texture from recent east winds, and the near surface facets are smaller (less than .5 mm) and less pronounced. These weak layers appeared to be moistening into a crust on steeper, sunnier aspects (SW aspect observed). Dug one pit in a wind sheltered, north facing slope at 10,800 feet. The 1/19 surface hoar layer (3-8mm) showed propagation, moderate initiation, 65 cm deep below a 1F slab. (ECTP19, SC)

Propagating results on surface hoar, buried 2 feet deep below a hard slab.

Narrow D2 wet slab on Gibson Ridge (E, BTL). Ran sometime in past few days.

Full depth glide avalanche. NE aspect BTL.

The stage is set for our next problematic persistent weak layers, in some places surrounding a soft crust.