Observation: Turnagain

Location: pastoral

Date:

March 6, 2016 2:00pm

Observer:

Anonymous

Route & General Observations

Left from Sunburst parking lot, Taylor pass to Pastoral. Very mild Temps, especially at Taylor pass. Cooler temps in the pastoral basin and on the ridge. Wind from the north on pastoral ridge, no wind transport.

Red Flags

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Obvious signs of instability

Recent Avalanches?	Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?	No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?	No

Observer Comments

Saw an older slide on sunburst that didn't make it to the valley floor. Looked to originate from ridge.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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

Weather

Blue bird. Mild temps, cooler in the shade and on ridge.

Snow surface

Breakable crust that disappeared around 1,500'. 5" of soft settled powder for most of the tour. Wind effect on pastoral ridge line. Looked to be cross loaded in spots.

Snowpack

Pit at 4,500' north aspect, 34 degree slope. Pit depth 102cm. Hard snow, took effort to dig and isolate columns. Distinct layers came out while digging roughly 20cm thick.
CTH27 RP 17cm below surface.
ECTN27 RP 17cm below surface.
90cm 1f-pencil hard, 100cm 4f, 102cm p (wind crust).

Photos & Video

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parking lot

20160306_105611

Location

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