Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheDylan Craaybeek, Austin DiVesta · Feb 13, 2022 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
17F, Clear sky, and Calm winds at 9:15 AM. Not a cloud in the sky all day and warming to above freezing temperatures. Light winds above 10,000 feet after noon.
Snowpack
The height of snow (HS) above 9,000 feet is consistently 1 to 1.3 meters deep on northerly and east aspects and .5 to 1 meter deep on southerly and west aspects. Basal facets on north and northeast slopes were not reactive to snowpack tests and 4F to 1F hard on the hand hardness scale. The mid-pack slab is mostly 1F hard with some P hard layers near the bottom of the slab. The top 30 to 50cm of the snowpack on northerly and east-facing aspects were very well-developed facets with striations and chains forming and many grains over 4mm large. The upper layer of facets is the primary layer of concern throughout the Flat Tops. The surface snow on southerly slopes and many west-facing aspects have a breakable melt-freeze crust (MFcr) under the weight of a snowmobile.
Avalanche
A few small Loose Dry avalanches less than D1 in size.