Observation: Turnagain

Location: Eddies

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Ascended to 2500′ on Eddies. We found propagation potential in snow pits on two different weak layers. Also found wind affected snow above 1500′ forming a few inch thick wind crust beneath the 1″ of new snow. We were tracking the depth of  the January melt freeze crust (MFC) in the snowpack and the thickness of the crust as we gained elevation.

Red Flags
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Observer Comments

None.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

Overcast at 1100. Clearing through the day to clear skies with a few clouds to the South at 1700.
Temperatures warmed through the day from mid 20s F to low 30s at the road and from mid 20s to upper 20s at 2400'.
No precipitation.
Calm winds.

Snow surface

1" of new snow over decomposing particles below 1500'. The snow below the 1" from yesterday was wind affected along the standard uptrack above 1500'. We found 2-4" wind crusts that were slightly breakable on ascent and fairly supportable on the descent.

Snowpack

We probed for depth and dug test pits every 500' from 1000'-2400'. In summary, we found 2 layers that exhibited propagation potential: down 1.5' on facets over a stout melt freeze crust (MFC) at 1500' and down 1.3' on buried surface hoar (BSH) and facets over a stout melt freeze crust at 2100'.

We were also looking to find out when the Jan. MFC transitioned from breakable to stout. At 1000' the MFC was breakable and had facets in between layers. At 1500' the MFC was stout. See snow pit profiles with structure and test results in photos below.

Photos & Video
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