Public Field Report

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Nice mellow day of ski touring on the north side of the pass. We generally encountered unsupported faceted snow on shadier, treed aspects and more supported snow on open, sunny slopes. We avoided slopes >35 degrees unless they were short and not connected to larger slopes. When setting the skin track, there was isolated collapsing and cracking, especially near ridgetops and above 8500'. We were a bit surprised at how thin the coverage was in this area compared to similar elevations elsewhere in the forecast area. The main hazards on the kinds of slopes we were skiing today were rocks/sage/logs hidden beneath the snow...hopefully more snow is coming our way!