Avalanche Observation Report – February 13, 2026
Location & Elevation:
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Amy’s Pit: Southeast-facing slope, ~8,600 ft, 22-degree slope.
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My Pit: Northeast-facing slope, ~8,800 ft, 28-degree slope.
Amy’s Observations:
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Multiple compression tests: No failures on compression, or Extended Column Tests
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Snowpack: Several crust layers—rain or sun crust—interspersed with weak faceted layers beneath.
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Bottom: Faceted, wet, weak ground layer.
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Anticipation: Potential future instability if snow accumulates atop these crusts on southeast aspects.
My Observations: (video below)
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Snowpack: ~66 inches total depth. New snow layers: 4 inches from yesterday (on top of a 3/4 inch graupel layer), 2 inches from Monday, all atop old snow.
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Shovel Shear Test: Easy shear on the graupel layer, but nothing else notable.
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Compression Tests:
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Failures on the graupel layer at 18 and 22 taps.
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Other failures at the new/old snow interface around 24 taps, it mostly just squished out during the test
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Full-column failure at 25 taps to the ground—though the column was cohesive. I was able to pull the entire column out without failing, and stack it outside the pit (see pic 1)
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Extended Column Test: No propagation after 30 taps. Minor settling at shallow layers, but overall very stable (see pic 2)
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Other Notes: We found some pretty good riding on steep, north-facing terrain where there was no tracks. These areas are getting harder and harder to find but if you can find them it is pretty good because you are cutting into the old faceted snow with 6 inches of new snow on top. Sun-exposed slopes softened quickly by noon, becoming wet. Small slab triggered on a wind-loaded pocket, though minor in scale. If you can't find any steep North facing terrain, we found okay riding on super mellow slopes where you didn't have to turn hard so you were held off the old cresty layers and old tracks.
Conclusion:
Southeast slopes show complex layering with crusts and facets that could cause future problems. Northeast slopes showed stable but faceted deep snow that has bonded well. Overall, current conditions are stable, but future snowfalls may stress weak layers, especially on southeast aspects. Watch for sun and wind effects in the coming days.
