Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheMax Strotbeck Austin Divesta · Dec 27, 2024 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Mostly overcast skies with small glimpses of sun, and light winds from the southwest. Temperatures remained around the low-twenties. Intermittent periods of very light snowfall.
Snowpack
We found about 4 inches of new snow that fell from yesterday to today. This storm snow occasionally cracked around our skis, but not enough weight of snow accumulated over the previous 24 hours for a storm slab to be of concern. Height of snow ranged greatly while traveling along the ridge, from 20cm-150cm, but in more sheltered areas height of snow was around 70cm-80cm. In sheltered terrain, we found the snowpack to be reactive. We triggered numerous collapses on the December drought layer, and one 20 foot long shooting crack while traversing this terrain. Extended column tests propagated on a west and north aspect with light taps (ECTP3 and ECTP4 respectively) on the early December drought layer. The slab above this layer supported our skis as we traveled, but when taking skis off, our boots penetrated the ground. In less sheltered terrain where previous wind loading created a deeper snowpack and denser slab, we found the December drought layer to be stubborn. An extended column test did propagate with hard taps (ECTP30) on well-preserved surface hoar crystals buried 78cm down, but it’s worth mentioning the fracture was a bit irregular. The slab above this layer was supportable both traveling on and off skis, with boot penetration being only about 20cm. Small cornices were beginning to form along the ridge, and they were breaking off while skinning the ridge. When the cornices failed, they only were able to entrain about 4 inches of new snow, but nothing broke deeper within the snowpack.
Avalanche
We saw old avalanche debris and an old crown on north-facing slopes, but nothing within the previous 48 hours.