Steamboat & Flat Tops

Snowpack

Max Strotbeck · Apr 16, 2024 · Steamboat & Flat Tops

Weather

Temperatures were near and above freezing, with light to moderate west winds and strong gusts. Skies were obscured until early afternoon, with only 50-100 feet of visibility, then becoming overcast with the occasional glimpse of sun. Snowing on average one centimeter an hour, with periods of S2, until about 1pm.

Snowpack

I found over 30cm of heavily rimed new snow that had fallen since the storm began yesterday. This snow was denser (4-finger hard on the hand hardness scale). It rested atop the old snow surface, a thick 5cm crust, that I found on north and south aspects, which formed over the sunny and warm days prior to this storm. Not getting a good freeze prior to the new snow, this crust was moist where I dug on north and south aspects, though firmer on the south (due to the snow pit location in an open area that sees wind, which likely firmed up the old surface). Extended column tests did not result in propagation in any snow pits. Where the crust was firmer on a south-facing slope, cracks initiated below the old surface with hard taps from the shoulder. Aside from the new snow, I found moist snow made up the rest of the snowpack up to 110cm from the surface (the furthest down I dug). Total depth of snow in this area seemed to average around 200-210cm.