Observation Date
1/26/2013
Observer Name
Ted Scroggin
Location Name or Route
Elizabeth Ridge
Weather
Sky
Broken
Wind Speed
Calm
Weather Comments
Some clearing overnight, but clouds moved in for the morning and afternoon. Calm winds even along the ridgelines.
Snow Characteristics
New Snow Depth
2"
New Snow Density
Medium
Snow Surface Conditions
Dense Loose
Faceted Loose
Wind Crust
Rain-Rime Crust
Snow Characteristics Comments
In sheltered areas, dense settled powder like snow can be found, but most areas are a mix of frozen hard tracks and wind affected snow.
Red Flags
Red Flags
Wind Loading
Cracking
Poor Snowpack Structure
Red Flags Comments
Spent the day on the east side of the trailhead along the 10,000' foot ridgeline of Elizabeth Ridge. Always a different snowpack in this area, almost nothing but weak faceted snow top to bottom, but no real slab other than the stiff hard wind slabs in the windy exposed terrain.
Avalanche Problem #1
Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Trend
Same
Problem #1 Comments
Places like Elizabeth Ridge that see big winds are places where a person could trigger an isolated wind slab on those slopes facing northwest through northeast. Right now the wind slabs seemed to be a little relaxed, some minor cracking with the weight of a person, but no recent activity.
Avalanche Problem #2
Problem
New Snow
Trend
Same
Problem #2 Comments
Cannot rule-out the possibility of an avalanche that fails on the buried weak faceted snow from earlier this month. The snowpack seems content right now, but the approaching storm will likely elevate the hazard.
Comments
I was finding a rain/rime crust, though not widespread, that is buried several inches below the surface and very weak faceted snow underneath it. This crust could possibly allow some weight to be added to the slab before the weak snow underneath fails, allowing for a bigger/deeper slide?
