Observation Date: 12/27/2019

Route/Location:
Hamilton-Darby (southern) Bitteroots up to 8400′, from 12-25 to 12-28.

Weather:
beautiful weather (12-26), calm winds, temps in the high teens

Wind:
calm

New Snow: No New Snow

Avalanche Activity:
none

Other Comments:
With 40″ of snow at 8,000 feet, the buried weak layers are probably healing, but new ones are developing near the top of the snowpack. Dense snow of 12-20 plus light snow of 12-24 form a thin slab (5″) that was cracking out above the skin track on buried surface hoar in sort of a lazy man’s Rutschblock test (see photo below). Also by 12-27, spectacular surface hoar had developed (see photo) and was then buried and preserved by a couple inches of new snow on 12-28. None of this will be a problem until a bunch of weight is added. The avalanches, like the skiers, are waiting for more snow.

Observer: J Lonn, Janiec