Shooting cracks on wind pillow

CB Avalanche Center2016-17 Observations

Location: Crested Butte Area
Date of Observation: 02/25/2017
Name: Evan Ross
Subject: Managing terrain for windslabs
Aspect: North East, East
Elevation: 9,000 – 11,3000

Avalanches:
Weather: Light winds, no observed blowing snow but mainly traveled in protected areas. Mostly cloudy sky became overcast to obscured with s-1 snowfall in the afternoon.
Snowpack: More managing terrain for potential windslabs. NTL at the top of climax 15-30cm’s of new snow was resting on NSF. The new snow is getting close to becoming enough of a slab to have a more widespread problem at this elevation, but still additional wind-loading was necessary to create an avalanche problem. Jumping on one wind pillow produced shooting cracks for the width of the pillow but the slab didn’t budge on that feature.

BTL, the snowpack has potential concerns for when that elevation accumulates enough snow. NSF on northeasterly aspects and some facet crust sandwiches on more easterly aspects.