Observation: Abajos

Persistent Weak Layer

Same

On our tour today, we saw no signs of instability. We weren't able to trigger any avalanches on test slopes below the rain crust. We had a small dry-loose on top of the rain crust on a test slope. The conditions in the Abajos are extremely thin. The new snow that fell was unconsolidated and very light causing our poles to sink all the way through the 4 inches of snow to the ground. We had to search for a place that had enough snow in a shaded aspect to dig a pit. We found 40cm of facets with a 5cm knife hard rain crust on top. The knife hard layer could be lifted up and held as one piece, it was tremendously strong. We weren't able to penetrate the crust on skis or on foot. What's underneath is what's concerning. The snow beneath the knife hard layer is so unconsolidated that when digging, breaking the rain crust resulted in the lower facet crumbling.

Wind Drifted Snow

In the high bowls, Horsehead and Buckboard, we observed wind-drifted pillowed snow and wind scouring visible on the NE and E faces.