December 15
Willow-Beartrap
Elevations, slope angles and aspects
7800-10200', angles approaching 35°, all aspects
Snow conditions
The recent large storm has settled nicely.
Surface hoar and near surface recrystalized is already forming in sheltered terrain down off ridges.
Ski penetration 4-8", boot penetration variable, dependent on old layering, to the ground in places.
Collapsing continues but, not with the "soil your shorts" power and consistency experienced two days ago. Stress fractures accompany some collapses.
South facing saw enough sun to crust by late afternoon.
Avalanche activity
Went looking at slide activity reported yesterday.
In addition, the latest word has a large slide released in South Monitor
after this photo was taken.
Weather
Partly cloudy skies, moderate temperatures. Winds from the southwest, gusting to 20 mph.
Higher winds were observed to the south and west, moving snow on 11000' peaks.
Snow pit
Mid slope slide in upper Beartrap. Slide was 20+ feet wide, running downhill a short distance. Of interest, it was new snow only.
Evaluation
"We pray for a wallop to wash our troubles away and start fresh," said a veteran forecaster.
Would not expect any sort of clean out of weak layering because of the complex nature of old snow layering. Extensive natural activity from areas with the weakest old snow was observed.
Those areas with crust-facet sandwiches, especially those with stout crust, remain in place waiting for more load or a trigger.
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