Mt Blackmore

Mt Blackmore

Date

This morning I toured up Mt Blackmore to check out the new snow. I tested the snowpack on a SE aspect of the east face of Blackmore at approximately 2905m in elevation. At this location, the new snow total was around 10cm. An ECT resulted in ECT16N @ 20cm. This failure occurred at an interface below a rain/ice crust that had pencil hardness and about 7cm thickness (photos). A shear test conducted on the remaining ECT column (photo), and a handful of hand shears on the approach, resulted in Q1 shears with medium to difficult effort. The new snow was well bonded to this crust and I observed no failures or movement at this interface. I observed small and isolated collapsing on the skin track during the approach (photo). Gaining the east ridge, I observed wind loading and a wet loose release on the east face (photo). With additional snow and sun in the forecast tomorrow, I am concerned with the potential for the below crust interface to propagate.

Region
Northern Gallatin
Location (from list)
Mt Blackmore
Observer Name
Erich Schreier