Wind Slabs Forming on Powderhouse Peak

After getting skunked while searching for wind-loaded test slopes small enough safely to gather information but large enough to have wind slabs on Elephants Hump, we decided to check out the summit ridge of Powderhouse Peak on the way back. We arrived at the trailhead during a lull in the storm and found about 3 inches of new snow at the base of Powderhouse. The snow was heavy and wet below 8400 ft. Unlike the dense snow on Elephants Hump, it did not sluff away from the underlying crust very easily. Above 8400 ft, new snow amounts increased to around 6 inches and the snow got colder and less dense.

Along the summit ridgeline of Powderhouse, we could see plumes of blowing snow as well as old and new cornices. Some small wind slabs had started to form on the leeward side of the ridge. Ski kicks triggered long shooting cracks in wind-loaded areas. A ski cut on a small test slope released a small wind slab. This small slab was only about 4-6 inches deep at its deepest and it released easily. If the storm intensifies this evening or during the night, wind slabs like this one could become much larger in a short amount of time.

We left the ridge via low angle slopes and descended on sheltered tree-covered slopes where we found the heavy dense snow waiting for us below 8400 ft. The break in the storm continued until we left the area around 3 pm.

On the drive back north, the storm seemed to intensify around 4 pm with snowfall rates approaching 2 inches/hour by the time we reached the Alpine Meadows traffic light.