Observation Date: 04/10/2020
Route/Location:
Up Burr point, down South face, then up and down the North shoulder of Castle Crag in Fred Burr creek.
Weather:
Wind:
New Snow:
Avalanche Activity:
Lots of naturals from the past week in Fred Burr. The largest were on shaded aspects, but there were also wet slabs up to a foot deep on solar aspects. I dug several pits on shaded aspects above 7,000 feet and found dry snow below the surface, and preserved facets. I was getting propagation and clean, energetic shears at test scores of 9 – 15 (wrist to light elbow taps) 2 – 2.5 feet down. In summary, as far as I can tell, this week’s warm tempertures did not do much to stablize the snowpack. I was pretty spooked, and stayed off wind loaded terrain over 30 degrees on shaded aspects. All in all a heads up day, especially since the snow now feels generally stable.
Other Comments:
Observer: Brian Story