Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheAnonymous · Jan 7, 2022 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Light west winds gusting to moderate at 10400ft. Rimed trees shed frequently with gusts. Peaks over 11,000ft (Flat Tops & higher Park Range peaks) were getting hammered with extreme winds and had intense transport. Few, high clouds that moved to scattered as the day progressed. Toasty temps at 10400ft but snow surface didn't seem to be impacted by it when we left the field at 1pm.
Snowpack
Snow from Thursday ended very warm so snowpack had some variable consistency and was capped with 3-5cm of graupel. Lots of evidence of rapid settling in snowpack (circumferential cracks in settlement cones as snow pulled away from tree trunks) No pits dug. North aspects ~8800ft had a minor breakable crust that still skied well but certainly took some of the fun out, pole plants would break thru into the early storm snow, skis would surf on top of the re-frozen warmer layer. North aspects ~9600ft were a little better quality, but still somewhat grabby. West and south aspects at 10400ft skied well with a slightly firmer crust. No wumphs or collapses observed.
Avalanche
none observed, viewed steep and very steep terrain on N, NW, S and SE aspects with no signs of natural or triggered slides