Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Dug down to the interface of the storm snow. What a storm it's been with 120 cm/4' of new snow at this location. The nearest snotel site at Taylor Green tallied 5" of Snow Water Equivalent in the last week. That is a lot of weight for our snowpack to adjust to. We need to be patient while it adjusts. On a WSW aspect at 7400', I found a breakable rime crust on the surface with some rimed new snow sitting atop it. A compression test revealed a Sudden Planar result on the 27th tap down 115cm. I performed an extended column test, with no propagation in the upper snowpack. (Note the ECT and CT are less effective at testing deeper layers (up to 120 cm down). In order to test the deeper interface, I performed a propagation saw test (PST) at a crust/new snow interface 120 cm down. I cut 25 cm of the 100 cm block before the weak layer propagated to the end of the block. We chose to stick to slope angles less than 30 degrees and found excellent riding.