Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Up top (8600’) the Southwest aspect of Little Joe (Presidential) or river left canyon wall of Bass Creek was barren to shallow. At roughly 8000 feet we dug a pit and performed Extended Column test on a 38 degree slope in 100cm of snowpack. We found an ECT 11 with 20cm slab (4 cm of sun crust bonded to 16 cm of wind slab) sliding but not propagating on top of hand width layer of sugary facets. We did not feel any whumpfing on approach, but found ice dowels within the loosely consolidated sugary facet layer propping up slab which none of us had ever seen. Our feeling was that the hardened sun crust and ice dowels that were limiting whumpfing and cracking up top we’re going to dissipate as we descended further down and create high danger for the wind slab to crack, collapse and slide. And so we boot packed 700 feet back up to the ridge and skied back down our east ridge approach.