Shallow crust at Stadium Glacier

Quick report

mcacho · Feb 20, 2022 · South Coast Inland

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Quick report

Weather
cold, sunny
Ride Type
alpineSlopes, sunnySlopes
Stayed Away
convexSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
OK
Snow Conditions
crusty, powder, windAffected
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSlab

10-15 cm light and cool snow found on top of crust above treeline. Skin track, well trafficked at points proved challenging to some in the melt freeze ice below the trees. Recent natural storm slab activity observed on north facing polar aspect on top of Stadium Glacier on a 38 degree slope. Storm slab appears to have sat “on top” of itself suggesting terrain support, but concern was had about the outcome had it been on a convexity. Not reporting as an avalanche in this MIN due to small and limited size.

Snowpack

Quick analysis on west facing slopes showed previous crust sitting on top of non-bonding faceted snow. Observed as a weak and unsupported crust that suggested unknown step-down and failure potential above the decision making ability of our group.