From obs on Mt Blackmore 12/2: " we were able to easily trigger shallow, short running windslabs by knocking down small cornices." Photo: C. Kussmaul
Today our party of three skied Blackmore peak, knowing beforehand the new snow and wind would keep us off the standard East Ridge to the summit, but still wanted to ski a lap on the lower section of that same ridge. Beforehand we were able to easily trigger shallow, short running windslabs by knocking down small cornices. We then headed up to the summit from the largely low angled SE sub-ridge and skied wind scour back to the trail. This lower angle terrain whumped on us a few times, whenever we stepped out of the trees, a hasty hand pit showed a thin sun crust under the new snow interface to be the culprit. Thought the attached picture may help some folks decided on weekend plans. Thanks!
Pretty solid conditions yesterday. Some drifting occurring at the top but better then expected. Pit showed a right side up pack with the usual small layer of facets at ground level. ICT 25, slight but stable wind packed layer on top 2 in. Decent felt really good and conditions felt comfortable enough to ski any aspect on Ellis.
Good skiing on the backside of Lick today.
Dug a test pit on the backside out of curiosity and found 95cm of snow and a ECTN16 score @ 31cm down.
Dense slab that fractured on top of a 1F crust.
Toured up to the NE shoulder on Mt. Blackmore yesterday. Winds were strong and variable, but mostly gusting from the S-SW. A lot of snow was moving around, skin tracks were filled in very quickly, and you could actively see small cornices starting to build on the lee side of the ridge.
On the descent, I intentionally triggered a small wind pocket in one of the chutes in the cliffs near the trail at 8700 ft. I included a video. It was D1 and about 5 inches deep at the crown. I think just a good reminder that even in the trees, the tops of those chutes get wind loaded and can definitely slide.
Toured up to the NE shoulder on Mt. Blackmore yesterday. Winds were strong and variable, but mostly gusting from the S-SW. A lot of snow was moving around, skin tracks were filled in very quickly, and you could actively see small cornices starting to build on the lee side of the ridge. Photo: H. Darby
On the descent, I intentionally triggered a small wind pocket in one of the chutes in the cliffs near the trail at 8700 ft. I included a video. It was D1 and about 5 inches deep at the crown. I think just a good reminder that even in the trees, the tops of those chutes get wind loaded and can definitely slide. Photo: H. Darby
Saw a group of skiers trigger a small wind slab avalanche on an eastern aspect at around 8,300' in the main fork of Hyalite in "Candy Land" just south of the climb Big League Chew at 2:00pm on Saturday (11/26). Crown looked to be around 2" to 1' and 90' wide. The slide ran maybe 100'. No skiers were caught. Photo: Anon
Saw a group of skiers trigger a small wind slab avalanche on an eastern aspect at around 8,300' in the main fork of Hyalite in "Candy Land" just south of the climb Big League Chew at 2:00pm on Saturday (11/26). Crown looked to be around 2" to 1' and 90' wide. The slide ran maybe 100'. No skiers were caught. Photo: Anon.
