Pro Field Report

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
April 15, 2022
Submitted:
April 15, 2022
Observer:
SAC - Chris Lundy (off duty)
Zone or Region:
Banner Summit
Location:
Copper Mtn (6900-8400, generally W)

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced
Light was not great for observing avalanche activity

Snow Stability

Stability Rating: 
Fair
Confidence in Rating: 
Low
Stability Trend: 
Worsening

Bottom Line

This was a short afternoon tour with minimal obs.

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Overcast
Wind:
Light
New/Recent Snowfall:
HST on the 4/10 interface: 40cm at highway up to 50cm at mid elevations

Cloud cover and sputtery precip seemed to dampen the effects of the sun today. We did not travel on due S, but the snow was slightly heavier on W and SW than on more shaded/treed W. I don't think there was enough sun to form a crust today but I don't feel very confident about that.

The wind was blowing light gusting to moderate in mid elevations. There was a little snow moving but not a lot. I imagine there was some active loading on upper elevation ridges.

Snowpack Observations

No formal obs, just some pole pokes and hand pits. No obvious instabilities within the storm snow. On solar the HST was sitting atop hard crusts. On shadier W, there was an ugly soft crust/10cm thick FC/hard crust layer beneath the HST (see photo). This was from the 4/4 storm atop the old drought crust. There wasn't much of a slab in sheltered terrain. Curious how this layer would look on N aspects.

Handpit at 7700', WNW. 50cm of new snow fell atop a crust/facet/crust layer. The facets have been hollowed out in this photo.

Avalanche Problems

We did not observe any problems in the mellow terrain we were in. I would expect wind slabs to be a significant problem but we were not in terrain where we would see them.

Terrain Use

We stuck to sheltered, mid-elevation terrain less than 35 degrees.