Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheMax Strotbeck · Dec 21, 2023 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Overcast skies. Calm winds. Temperature a bit above freezing. No new snow.
Snowpack
Traveling between 8400-9400 feet, height of snow ranged from about 45cm on south aspects to 95cm on north aspects (with the deepest measurement at just above 100cm). South facing slopes have developed multiple crusts within the snowpack. A 3cm thick crust is present on the surface and is hard to penetrate with skis. There is some faceting occurring beneath this crust. On north and north-northeast aspects, two extended column tests produced propagating results on the basal weak layer with hard taps (ECTP23 & ECTP30). These results occurred about 17cm from the ground. A third test on a north aspect (with the slightest west tilt) did not yield propagating results. In all three tests, non-propagating results occurred with hard taps at the buried surface hoar layer (ECTN21, ECTN21 & ECTN24). There were some intact surface hoar crystals up to 5mm in size, but evidence was hard to find.
Avalanche
I did not observe any avalanches.