Date of Observation: 01/07/2022
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snodgrass TH down to East River
Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches: nothing new observed
Weather: Clear skies, light winds at my below treeline elevation, and mild air temperatures. I observed some drifting above treeline on Whetstone, Whiterock, and Bellview during the day.
Snowpack: I traveled through an area that is generally fairly shallow compared to the rest of the forecast area looking for signs of instability and test basal weak layers near the ground. Snow depth was around 135cm in locations free of drifting and scouring. No signs of instability underfoot. East slopes in this area had no pre-December facets at the ground…weak depth hoar, 10cm-ish thick, was present on northeast and north. Depth hoar appears to be rounding but remains relatively weak compared to the slab above (see profile). Surface Hoar, 3-5mm in size, is developing on the north through east slopes.
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- Surface Hoar forming on north through east slopes in this area, 3-5mm in size.
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- Test profile from a northerly slope that shows improving weak layers, but still significant difference in grain size and hardness with slab above.
