Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheMax Strotbeck · Nov 19, 2022 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Sunny, clear day. Temps stayed below freezing. Little to no wind.
Snowpack
We dug a pit on a NNE facing slope at 9450ft. Depth of snowpack was 85cm. Taking a ski off, I sunk all the way to the rain crust layer that was formed two weeks prior. The snow crystals on the surface from our latest storm on 11/17 were still relatively intact, evidence of little wind and sustained cold temps. While isolating a column for a CT test the column fractured (Q1 shear) immediately above rain crust layer. Our ECT first produced a fracture that did not propagate at the new/old snow interface, and then two taps later on top of the rain crust layer (also did not propagate). Our PST also did not propagate across the entire column when it fractured. See snowpit profile for further detail.
Avalanche
No avalanche activity noted. Few signs of instability while traveling aside from feeling some collapsing under skis, presumably on the rain crust layer and primarily felt when traversing north facing terrain.