Observation: Turnagain

Location: Cornbiscuit/Goldpan

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Route
Cornbiscuit – Goldpan

Weather
Clear skies, cold temps, brief period of light North winds 11-12pm
6 deg F @ 1,000’ at 10am and 4 pm

Obvious Signs Of Instability
Recent Avalanches-NO
Shooting Cracks-NO
Collapsing-NO

Glide Cracks/Avalanches-No recent movement or releases

Surface Obs
2” of very low density snow from 1,000’ to ridgetops blankets the surface
Observed very shallow point releases in very steep terrain (photo)
Sluffing occurred in terrain over 40 degrees: very low volume with medium
speed-very manageable

Snow Below the Surface
A brief wind event on Friday created very shallow wind slabs 4-6” thick (currently covered with 2″ snow). These thin slabs were non- reactive in all tests.
We dug on S aspects around 3,400’. Layers at 25 and 30 cm down showed moderate
to high strength with NO propagation potential. Grain type was mixed forms
(@30cm down) and failures occurred at subtle hardness changes. (see pit profile)
I was able to find the mid December Surface Hoar 80 cm down (by prying on the back of the column) and it was non reactive in multiple tests. Layer is thin, grains are laying over and stuck to
overlying slab and approximately 1 cm in size.

Photos & Video
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