Incline Peak Observations

With a break in the active pattern this morning I decided to head up Incline Peak to check conditions. I was interested in searching for surface hoar, testing facet layers, and observing how the new snow was bonding to the most recent crust layer. On my skin up I did not encounter any obvious signs of instability and a quick mitt pit revealed the new storm snow has bonded quite well to the crust in this area.

I dug a more formal study pit near a location I’ve visited often this season and upon arriving I noticed surface hoar laying down at the snow surface. Looking under the loupe confirmed they were 0.5cm feathers. I did not observe any standing surface hoar on my tour.

Stability tests resulted in ECTN12 just below the most recent crust and PST 60/130 (SF) on the old Dec 11 layer. Thankfully I didn’t find any preserved surface hoar underneath the new snow. As forecast, that new snow was still very unconsolidated and hadn’t formed a slab yet. The lack of a slab on top of the upper crust during my tests had me wondering if fractures will propagate underneath the crust layer following the substantial storm load arriving tonight.