December 28

Up Porter out Neffs

Elevations, slope angles and aspects:

5500-9700', angles to 35°, north, east and west aspects.

Avalanche activity:

Several slides within new snow layering were triggered kicking cornices along the west Porter,

result

upper Porter

cornice kicking

and Porter- west Thaynes ridge lines.

constrict

Slides were up to about 30' wide and a foot deep. All ran to the first flat, not beyond. They did pack a bit of punch. Cornice kicking in Neffs, produced no slides and neither did ski cutting.

Slopes skied:

West facing Neffs, north slide path and the northwest facing from the north slide path entry.

Snow conditions:

Soft settled snow on northeast and north facing sheltered areas. West and northwest had a wind skin in the most exposed locations. Drifting was found along upper elevation ridges and down onto lee slopes. Ski cutting would crack those but saw no movement. Current snow line extends to the mouth of Neffs.

Weather:

Overcast to obscure cloud cover. Light snowfall for much of the day, adding little depth. Continued cool temperatures although, somewhat warmer than the last couple. Winds were from the west, blowing up to around 20 mph, at times, along the ridges.

Snow pit:

neffs snow pit profile

Evaluation:

Stability was dependent on aspect and wind effect. Some increased instability noted from the wind drifting. Since near surface faceting and surface hoar was widespread yesterday, I'd imagine some of the wind blown was sitting on facets. Current forecast indicates more wind and some additional snow, so instability will be on the rise, especially on lee aspects at upper and mid elevations.

 

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