Moist strong snowpack and dust on crust conditions on Becker Peak

One to three inches of new snow had fallen in this area by noon. A frozen supportable crust existed underneath this new snow on all aspects creating "dust on crust" conditions. Some very small (three to four inch deep, extending three to four ft downhill) wind slabs had formed due to light to moderate winds transporting this new snow onto leeward aspects. These wind slabs did crack under the weight of a skier; however, they remained too small to pose any hazard due to the lack of accumulation and lighter than expected winds. Ski cuts on steep test slopes would also cause shallow loose snow sluffs as the one to three inches of new snow sluffed off of the frozen crusts below it.

Underneath the surface recent warming has allowed the entire snowpack to become moist. This warming has allowed the persistent weak layer that is only buried about three to four feet deep in this area to gain some strength. Tests done on this layer in this area today indicated that it is difficult to break this layer and that fracutes in this layer are now unlikely to propagate. See snowpit above.

Photo 1: Small inconsequencial wind slab on a NE facing test slope

Photo 2: Small loose snow sluff on a steep NE facing test slope