Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheJason Konigsberg · Jan 2, 2018 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
We weren't on any ridgelines today but in exposed areas the wind was light and no wind transport was visible.
Snowpack
The snowpack in this area is thin and weak. It is a very different snowpack than areas around Steamboat. The slab from the last storm is thin (less than a foot thick) and is soft except where wind affected. The wind has developed areas of hard-wind-drifted snow on isolated terrain features. On a wind-affected northeast slopes that we dug on, the depth hoar had some strength to it and the main future concern would be facets near the surface sitting directly below the hard slab. On northerly slopes the snowpack is very weak and almost entirely faceted with fist-hard depth hoar up to 5 mm. Below 10000 feet the snowpack is very thin on shady slopes and non-existent on sunny slopes.
Avalanche
One old avalanche was observed on a steep slope above the road. Extensive cracking for about hundred feet around the avalanche.