February 18, 2016

Observations

Front Range: North Fork Campbell Creek, Snowhawk Creek

Red flags (obvious signs of instability):

  • None observed

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny with calm to light wind and temps in the 20s

Surface conditions:

  • Below 1500′: little to no snow, icy trail
  • 1500-2000′: melt-freeze crust (mostly supportable)
  • 2000+’: mostly variable dry winter snow primarily composed of supportable wind slab, wind buffed powder, and thin-soft-carveable wind slab; isolated areas of sun crust and radiation recrystallization

Snowpack:

Observed generally stale snow and unreactive snowpack that is weak and with poor structure, but little to no energy.  Numerous hand pits revealed faceted layer(s) between wind slab(s) in the upper 3′ of the snowpack, but somewhat bonded and with little reactivity.

IMG_4402 IMG_4401 Western Chugach from Tanaina Upper Ship Creek from Temptation IMG_4405