Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

I went touring today up on the south side of cornucopia. Upon entering more complex terrain we dug into the snow pack to have a look. The first location we dug was on a north aspect at 5500. Here the Jan 12 rain crust is very stout and 2 inches thick with weak faceted snow sitting on top. We had full propagation on the 17th tap of our extended column test with the slab falling off the column and into our laps. From here we avoided avalanche terrain and continued higher. I dug again on an east aspect at 6800feet. Here the rain crust was much less pronounced only about an inch of hard snow but had weak faceted snow sitting on top. We had full propagation on 23rd tap of an extended column test with slab once again falling into our lap. We also experienced strong winds out of the west today with plenty of snow still available for transport. I expect the windslabs to be touchy in the alpine with the possibility of triggering the persistent slab underneath as it is in the top 3 feet of our snowpack here on the south side of the range.