VIACS

Amazing day in the Beadnell Lake area. Found a wide variety of snow conditions - sunny and steep solar slopes held a dense /breakable melt freeze crust and shaded leeward slopes held 30-50cm of light dry snow. Dug a pit near treeline in a wind protected leeward zone. Found multiple reactive layers within the upper 120cm of the snowpack. 10cm down from the surface of the snowpack is a surface Hoar layer (size 6mm) reacted to compression tests as a CTM11down 10 SP Down 55cm from the surface of the snowpack is another surface Hoar layer (size 3mm) , it reacted to compression tests as a CTH 23 down 55cm SP Down 80cm is a layer of graupel that fell last weekend /Saturday March 7th. Which goes to show you what an excellent week we have had on the island for snow!! This Graupel layer reacted as a CTH 25 down 80 SP A laminated melt freeze crust exists about 100cm down from the surface of the snowpack. Facets exist within this laminated melt freeze crust and reacted to compression tests as a CTH 27 down 100cm SP Observed two separate natural avalanches - size 2.5-3 that resulted from cornice fall triggering the surface Hoar layer- the avalanche ran approx 250-300meters long from the alpine down nearly full path. Another cornice release also triggered a natural avalanche including a 100M (approx) propagation. The avalanche appeared to be a size 1.5 avalanche.