Steamboat & Flat Tops
Snowpackjohn morrone · Feb 11, 2015 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
bluebird, wind <5 mph, temps at/ below 32F all day, but considerable soar warming
Snowpack
at 8660' elevation encountered "Funky" feeling snow when touring up w ridge with near-surface crust (variously solid to breakable), surface hoar and "spongy" styrofoam like layers below. quick pit revealed 110 cm snow HS with thin MF surface crust covered with facets, but basal facets (1F) had rounding and were WET below thanksgiving rain crust at 40 CM. finger to 4-finger 40 cm slab above faceted rain crust was also more wet than moist. top 30cm consisted of 4F-fist storm snow snow below near surface crust and facets/ hoar. top layers showed v. easy shear on MF crust, as well as v easy planar shear on thanksgiving rain crust. difficult to construct a column as collapses on isolation repeatedly occurred on 40 CM rain crust. single standing isolated column had CT 1 SC Q1 at base of near surface MF crust, and CT 2 SP with SC on wet facets at base of thanksgiving rain crust. near surface crust was non-existent on due N shaded aspects at all elevations, and disappeared on N and W aspects above 9000'.