Date of Observation: 12/11/2016
Name: Steve Banks
Aspect: East, South East, South, South West, West
Elevation: 10,500-12,000
Avalanches: A few small 8-15′ wide pockets failed within the new snow, but didn’t gain any momentum on slopes ~35° and only moved less than a foot downhill. With clearing skies in the afternoon, no natural activity was noticed in surrounding peaks.
Weather: Warmer early in the morning with temp dropping to 22° F at 9 am and staying there all day. Winds kicked in at 8 am from the SE with strong to extreme gusts, moving to the W/SW by midday. Ridgtop winds were hitting 60 mph. S5 morning snow tapered through the day with clouds lifting around 3pm.
Snowpack: 7″ new snow overnight with an additional 1″ through the day (most of it blew around/away) Very dense snow with 1.1″ of H2O. Soft slab in the morning stiffened from the wind throughout the day. New snow bonded relatively well to the old surfaces.
Quick compression tests showed mid-storm instabilities with resistant planer shears.