Detailed Observation
| Date | 2021-02-03 |
| Location | Haines |
| Observer | Jeff Moskowitz |
| Avalanche | N |
General Observations
Lutak Zone: 2000’/N-Aspect/Overcast-Broken/Calm. The cold temperatures this past week have worked to weaken certain layers especially around crusts. Strong winds from the north have loaded features that are now not as obvious and buried under today’s 10cm of light new deposits. This new snow on steep pockets was running fast over the old surface down 25cm that included buried surface hoar down 10cm. With increased uncertainty, it’s still a fun time on slopes less than 30 degrees while keeping in mind, terrain management, stability assessment and traveling with a group that has recently practiced companion rescue skills. Scroll down for more info…..
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Weather Observations
| New Snow Amount | 10cm |
| Foot Penetration | 45cm |
| Ski Penetration | 25cm |
| Wind Speed | Calm |
| Wind Direction | N |
| Sky Cover | Overcast-Broken |
Snowpack Observations
The propagating result down 45cm is the most concerning, because it demonstrated the propensity to initiate a fracture. With slab stiffening at the surface, or a new load (wind, snow, increased temps) could be problematic over the crust down 25cm or surface hoar down 10cm. The MLK Day Crust is an evolving layer and should stay on the radar up to 3000'. Overall, poor structure and test results in the upper 100cm of snowpack, paints a much more complex picture from even last week, as temperatures remained well below 15F. Definitely not the time for complacency, but a good time for digging around and examining layers.
Stability test results:
- Extended Column Test (ECT) with ECTP16 down 45cm on a hard to detect interface that likely had surface hoar
- Propagation Saw Test (PST) with PST65/120 Slab Fracture (SF) down 65cm below the upper MLK Day Crust Combo
- Compression Test (CT) with CT8 Sudden Collapse (SC) down 25cm over the supportable crust