NAME: JSJ
DATE: 2/21/15
LOCATION: Gothic
ELEVATION: 9,400-11,150′
ASPECT: W / NW / SE / S / SW
WEATHER: showery and convective day of precip. Mostly overcast with and S2 precip with periods of S5 precip followed by broken skies and sunny spells. Gusty NW winds at ridge top and SW winds closer to valley floor.
SNOWPACK/AVALANCHE OBS: 10-15cm new snow by 1600. Mostly low density and not slabbing up where sheltered from wind. Snow pit test profiles on a 34* NW aspect at 10,800′ showed buried SH layer down 20 cm reactive to shovel tilt test. Compression Test results repeatedly failed with moderate force and resistant planar fracture character at the basal facets 90cms down. Solar aspects had a 15cm thick MF crust below new snow and zero instability on a 36* slope. New snow seems to be bonding well to old snow surface where it is resting on a roughed up MF crust on solar aspects.