Riders in the Centennial Mountains experienced almost constant whumphing at higher elevation and saw a couple of days old avalanche on a windl-oaded east north east facing slope. Photo: R. Gravett
Almost constant Whumphing at higher elevation. Saw couple days old avalanche on a windloaded east north east facing slope. This area in known as Yahoo.
Felt two very large whoomps (collapsing) just off the big springs/two top trail. They happened in the same spot 5 minutes apart.
I skied above hebgen today, and found some encouraging signs. No collapsing on the way up, but I did get a few small ones on the way out below 7k. A pit on an east facing slope at 8800’ had 90 cm of snow, and I got a poorly-defined propagation at ECTP16 in the big, granular facets that make up the base of the snowpack. The newer snow slab was quite cohesive, although there is a thin rain crust that formed yesterday afternoon. The lake is currently a slushy experience.
Ice crust on trees from freezing rain last Saturday Dec 28 now covered by rime ice.
We skied around Sawtelle Peak today where there is a solid 4 feet of snow at 8750' where we restarted the snow depth sensor which is working now.
The good: We didn't see any recent avalanches, but we were traveling on foot and couldn't see all the terrain. The weak layer of snow that formed on the snow surface after Thanksgiving into early December is slowly gaining strength. There's also a ton of snow and coverage has improved dramatically.
The bad: The weak layer of facets is generally in the middle of the snowpack and can be found on all slopes. The recent snow is the first big test of this weak layer, and it produced numerous big rumbling collapses on both an East and Southwest aspect. These collapses are an obvious sign of unstable snow and told me not to trust the snowpack.
Of interest: There are several thin rain crusts within the upper two feet of snow. You'll likely feel the upper most rain crust under your track but not under skis. The attached photo shows the most recent freezing rain event on the trunks of trees.
