Steamboat & Flat Tops

Avalanche

Eric Haskell · Jan 24, 2019 · Steamboat & Flat Tops

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Weather

Obscured to overcast with medium flurries of snow. NW moderate winds with active snow transport. Storm level around 8700' - stopped snowing and cleared up below.

Snowpack

Shooting cracks from snowmobile on east facing wind loaded rolls. Minor cracking in new snow. No collapsing. See snow profiles - surface hoar still showing active results ~1M down on north faces, even near treeline. Largest concern today would be loose dry avalanches everywhere and wind slabs on eastern to crossed loaded southern aspects. Persistent problem may be concern with large sluffs as possible trigger but becoming less of a concern for skier triggering.

Avalanche

Small slabs on northeast face sometime during storm - ~30cm deep. Widespread sluffs.