Steamboat & Flat Tops
SnowpackDan Edmiston ยท Dec 15, 2013
Weather
Mild south wind moving a bit of snow along the ridge. Sunny early on with some high clouds moving in. Air temps in the low 20's
Snowpack
Mostly found about 1m of snow on north facing slopes and as little as 20cm's of snow on south facing slopes. About 8cm's new snow on top. Thin crust (3mm thick) about 30-40cm's down with some small near surface facets in a small layer just beneath the crust. Ran CT and ECT on 28-30 degree slopes. CT failed on 4 hits from the wrist with a Q1-SC failure just below the thin crust. ECT failed and propagated fully (Q1-SC) at 5 hits also on the same crust. The over-lying snow wasn't consolidated enough to remove the block in one piece, however it was consolidated enough to propagate. We then skied the same slope in 35-45 degree trees without any consequence. Crust was visible in snowpack when looking back at ski turns. No sign of slab consolidation in the trees on this north facing terrain, yet. Future stability could be concerning. On the low angle ski exit there was woomphing heard while skiing across open meadows.