Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheAustin DiVesta · Dec 20, 2021 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
Below treeline the temperature was pleasant with little not no wind. Once I started to get near treeline and above, the winds were moderate to strong. The winds were transporting what little snow was left into east-facing starting zones.
Snowpack
The snowpack below treeline is generally weak. On northerly slopes, there are six to ten inches of snow that are faceting. On southerly aspects, you have about three to five inches of snow that are quickly disappearing with warmer temperatures in the afternoons. While walking near treeline on a north aspect at about 11000ft, I triggered several whumpfs and booming collapses; these produced enough air to escape the snowpack to move a couple of small trees close to where the collapses happened. I dug a snowpit at the site of the whumpf. I found only three different layers in the snowpit which were, decomposing fragments (.3-.5mm), wind-packed rounds (.5mm), and depth hoar (1.5-2.5mm) from the early season. Snowpit observations revealed easy results on a propagation test (ECTP8) and a compression test (CT6 Q2). Above treeline slopes that are holding snow are north through northeast and east. The winds seem to play a significant factor in the distribution of snow in the alpine: westerly facing slopes are almost entirety bare.
Avalanche
Large avalanche on a northeast slope off of Parkview Mountain.