Avalanches: Plenty of old crowns on pretty much all slopes steep enough to slide on east aspects below treeline. A couple old crowns up high just off the ridge below cornices but it doesn’t look like very much ran up there, and the cornices are getting big. We got one minor woomph on the skin track at 11,200, other than that no observed signs of instability.
Weather: warm, like only two pulls to get the sled started warm. Calm winds, snowing S1 pretty consistently throughout the day.
Snowpack: At 11,100 ENE aspect, 220cm HS. 20cm ski pen 45 cm boot pen. This low angle snow felt supportive. The steeper slopes we skied had slid during the christmas storm cycle, we didn’t stop to measure how much new snow was on the bed surface since we were shredding so so sweet, but it felt like 16 inches or so of decomposing new snow up high, same depth of more faceted snow down low.

Avalanches:
Weather: Light snow from 0900 to 1400, less than an inch of accumulation; very light south wind; temps in low 20s.
Snowpack: Travelled on terrain up to 41* with no signs of instability, besides slow moving and small Loose Dry facet sloughing in steep terrain. Throughout the entire E/NE side of Snodgrass we found an average HS of 80-120cm, with a 10-15cm 1F- hard Persistent Slab resting above 15cms of depth hoar where slope angle was 35* has previously avalanched, and on these slopes total HS was anywhere from 20-60cms, with No Persistent Slab, and the only concern was Loose Dry snow avalanches and hitting buried obstacles. These slopes will again no doubt be ‘repeat offenders’ when another significant load is placed on them.

Avalanches:
Weather:
Snowpack: Stiff, brittle slab from post-xmas settlement has seen obvious faceting with cold temperatures last 8 days. One ECT on sunny shoulder today produced ECTX, uniform 4F hardness…though not representative of entire terrain and every aspect, is a good sample of how xmas storm slab has changed. UUWW has variable depths and coverage, with some areas 120cm+, while others are clearly faceted through and only 40cm deep. Sun crusts on any southerly slope steeper than 25º. East Barkmarker bed surface has dramatically faceted under and between two melt-freeze crusts and large, striated 4-6mm depth hoar is widespread. 1/4 melt freeze crust from yesterday’s warm temperatures is already propagating under skis.

Avalanches:
Weather: Calm and partly cloudy. Relatively warm due to the cloud cover.
Snowpack: The snowpack in this area appears to have lost a lot of strength. In the vast majority of places, the slab from the Xmas storm has faceted into 10-20 cm slab that is Fist hardness. This slab sits upon either fully developed depth hoar on northerly and shaded aspects, the ground on solar aspects, and crust/facet combos on steeper solar slopes that held snow prior to this storm. HS averages around 70 cm. Some isolated areas carry a thick 1F slab, these are isolated to areas that were heavily loaded from the Xmas storm. Snow surfaces are weak across the compass with lots of near surface faceting, pockets of surface hoar, and a thin 2-3 cm crust on steeper south facing slopes.

Avalanches:
Weather: Light snow from 0900 to 1400, less than an inch of accumulation; very light south wind; temps in low 20s.
Snowpack: SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: I skied the skier’s left side of the “Rental Shop” area off of Snodgrass. It had clearly avalanched during the previous cycle, with significant crowns still visible. HS was 50 to 60 cm of pure facets. Primary problem was loose, facet sloughing. This snowpack is totally weak and will not support any new load – something to keep in mind as this next round of storms comes in.

Avalanches:
Weather: Mostly sunny in the morning with increasing clouds. -1° at 230pm at 10,330 feet.
Snowpack: HS around 100 cm at 10,330 feet with well developed facets on the bottom 35 cm and a 65 cm cohesive slab on top. The bottom half of the slab was P and 1F hardness softening to 4F in the upper 15-20 cm.

We skied a 29° slope and observed no signs of instability while skiing but observed a collapse while we were walking around our pit area. ECTP 18 SC failing on facets 45 cm from the ground.

Avalanches:
Weather: Warm clear morning with high temp of 36F, clouded up slowly throughout the day.
Snowpack: HS between 20-100cm’s with an average of 60cm’s and most 4F hardness through out. Thin shallow areas all faceted 2-3mm. Slab feels pretty isolated in loaded terrain features. Little to no cracking on big
shots, just peeling the onion on surface snow but roughing up the surface pretty well.

Castle Valley L & R: Hand shots and 9£ airblasts produced isolated wind slab
pockets of rock bands and shallow dribblers running mostly full track. Slab isolated
and mostly shallow soft snow 40-50cm’s F to 4F. Debris roughing up surfaces nicely
for next storm

Avalanches:
Weather: Increasing clouds in PM, above freezing temps NTL, light southerly wind near treeline.
Snowpack: no signs of instability today. first time in deeper part of zone since before xmas. remarkably different feeling snowpack compared to Gothic/Brush/Cement. Deep and stable. Widespread surface hoar at all elevations, moistening southerly slopes and crust forming with increasing clouds early afternoon. Small dry loose avalanches off steep terrain in Pittsburg area, minimal cornice development considering almost mid january. tracks on steeper slopes.