Observations from Porcupine Ridge

Thin and weak snow in the Porcupine Ridge area. South East aspects below treeline held soft faceted snow, but shallow snow depth made avoiding rocks challenging. East and North East aspects held a mix of snow surfaces with wide spread wind slab interspersed with soft NSFs. Widely distributed Surface Hoar up to 10mm size present in most locations. SH observed between 8000 and 9400 elevation range, with the largest SH found on North facing slopes with widely spaced trees. 

Photo 1: A thin wind slab over roughly 15cms of very weak NSFs. Presence and strength of the wind slab varied.

Photo 2: The wind slab varied in thickness and strength, but did show ability to crack in several locations. Soft NSFs are present below this broken slab.

Photo 3: A lot of Surface Hoar in this area. 

Photo 4: North facing slopes held some impressively large Surface Hoar. The perfect recipe in this area seemed to be widely spaced trees.