Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheMax Strotbeck · Feb 1, 2024 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
The early morning started cold but quickly climbed to above freezing by mid-morning at lower elevations. Few clouds to start the day but skies gradually became overcast by late afternoon. Light winds from the southwest. No new snow.
Snowpack
Below treeline, I observed a snowpack between 85-110cm deep on west through southwest through south aspects. On the surface of open areas, I found 3-10mm surface hoar crystals sitting atop a pencil hard crust that was 2-7cm thick depending on slope angle and aspect. Just below this crust were 1 finger hard rounded grains. Around the moderately spaced aspens that I ascended amongst while climbing the ridge, I did not observe any surface hoar. When I skied down in the late afternoon, these crusts and the snow beneath had become wet snow that could easily be formed into a snowball. Near treeline and above, height of snow varied greatly, from about 50cm where winds scoured westerly aspects to 146cm on a north aspect, but near the summit the depth was generally around 100-110cm. Surface hoar was widespread on all aspects observed (southwest through west through north) near treeline, from 3-20mm in size, which sat atop a 3cm thick crust specific to the southwest and west aspects observed. On aspects without a surface crust, the upper 10-15cm of snow at these elevations was weak fist hard snow that seemed to be a mix of decomposing fragments, faceted rounded grains, and perhaps near surface facets. I experienced no collapses or cracking while traveling today.
Avalanche
I did not observe any avalanches today.