I traveled from 6800-10,000 ft, north half of the compass, angles to 32 degrees. Most of the terrain I was traveling in was fairly protected so wind loading was not an issue.Generally speaking the snowpack is thin and weak below about 8000/8500 ft. The snow pack above 8500 ft is deeper and has a bit more strength. My CT and ECT tests had inconclusive results. No results on ECT tests on N, NNW and NE facing slopes. CT test scores 11-25. Columns failed on basal facets, and at both interfaces from the faceting events in January. The basal facets were large grains (3+mm). The January facet interfaces were small grain (1mm). Shear quality was generally Q3 although I did get a couple of Q1 shears on small grained facets from the first faceting event. I've seen some really strong snow and just a few hundred feet away some really weak snow. Anyway, there just seems to be a tremendous amount of spacial variability which makes decision making tricky.
Observation Date
2/15/2013
Observer Name
jg
Region
Uintas
Location Name or Route
Hoyt Peak area/S. Fork of the Weber
Comments