Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheKreston Rohrig · Jan 14, 2021 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Windy and cold at higher elevations below treeline. Valley temps were much warmer. High thin clouds and smaller puffs right above mountain top streaked across the sky throughout the day.
Snowpack
We found a similar snowpack to other regions in the norther mountains. On a NE slope with a little bit of wind load, there was a small wind-skin/slab forming above a soft layer of near surface facets. Below the near surface faceted layer was a 4 finger to 1 finger mid-pack over weaker large grained facets at the bottom. There were two layers of old buried surface hoar, but they were no longer reactive in stability tests. ECTX was all I could get. It seems the recent clear cold weather has further weakened remaining slabs and settling has slowly bonded layers together. The snowpack is generally, weak, but less dangerous in the short-term. Once we get more snow, this will likely change for the worse.
Avalanche
None observed