Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheAustin DiVesta · Jan 8, 2023 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
The day started off as a warm bluebird day with little to no wind below treeline. Around noon winds and clouds started to pick up from the west. Ridgelines saw significant wind-loading on easterly-facing slopes. As the winds picked up, the temperature dropped. We also noticed lenticular clouds over the middle portion of the Zirkel Wildness.
Snowpack
I found a snowpack height of over a meter and a half in all the places I probed today. I did not notice any signs of unstable snow, like cracking or collapsing, even in meadows next to streams and willows. I did see several Loose Wet avalanches in extreme terrain around cliffs on south-facing slopes. A snowpit around 10,000ft on an east-facing slope mostly consisted of rounds ranging from 1 Finger Hard to 4 Finger Hard. I did not dig down to the ground as the snowpack was two and a half meters. I did note a Pencil Hard crust at 123cm, which was likely formed on Christmas Eve. This snow pit did not yield any propagating test results in this snowpit. I then moved to a west-facing slope and found snowpacks varying from 150cm to 180cm. A snowpit on the west aspect at 10,600ft was again mostly made up of rounds. However, I did that Christmas Eve crust with facets above and below it. I also found the November Rain Crust around 15cm from the ground. I did not get any propagating test results in this pit either.
Avalanche
Several small Loose Wet Avalanches in extreme terrain around cliffs on south-facing slopes.