Collapsing

Poor Snowpack Structure

Elevation: 7900 feet Aspect: NW Angle: 0° Signs of Instability: Whoomphing Comments: While guiding a snowshoe tour in park city we observed the lower facets capped by a rain crust/facet sandwich with about an inch of new snow on top. Snowpack totaling 1-1.5 feet in this area. Shortly after, 2 of the 4 of us walking in the middle of the group felt a collapse. It was very localized, but of note was the fact this is a widely used trail at low elevation. My 3 clients were on the packed trail that a moose had used not long before. I was adjacent to the trail. My feeling is that when this lower snowpack in the 8000ft range sees a significant load, this layer could be trickier than I initially suspected. Forecaster: Thank you very much - a critical observation for us.