Emna Instability

Quick report

Weather

cloudy, sunny, warm

Ride Type

alpineSlopes, mellowSlopes, openTrees

Stayed Away

convexSlopes, steepSlopes

Riding Quality

ok

Snow Conditions

crusty, hard, windAffected

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSound

Skiing in Kutetl (is that how it's spelled?? I never know). Very firm but enjoyable. Slight crust, but mostly everything up there just felt very compact, presumably from wind and a heating/cooling cycle. Skiing up the East face of Emna Peak, observed remnants one natural slide (maybe 10cm deep, probably a day old, see photo) along the ridge toward Half Dome. While climbing the last pitch on the ridge to Emna heard a big wumph and felt the snow settle. Some cracks in the snow, but nothing slid (probably a 25-30 degree slope below us). Got the heck out of there. Hand shear tests throughout the day had the snow releasing reluctantly around 30-40cm down. Stay safe out there!