Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheAustin DiVesta Drew Gibson · Feb 15, 2024 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
The day started off warm with a hint of wind, but towards about 1 pm, snow and wind started.
Snowpack
Right now the most problematic slopes are on the north and east side of the compass. The slabs that rest on top of the basal weak layer are relatively soft (4 Finger in hardness). This is very different than west-facing slopes below treeline where they are made up of a mixture of crusts in varying sizes. The thickest melt-freeze crust we saw was 5cm. This also was the layer on an ECTP11 that we got a failure down 45cm on a layer of facets forming just above the crust. These crusts are acting similar to a slab, but there isn’t really any slab properties.
Avalanche
I remotely triggered an avalanche on foot as I punched through the upper snowpack. I felt a collapse, and then the slope started to move about 10ft below me.