Disease Ridge Crust Complex Cash Register

Riding quality was:

Amazing

Snow conditions were:

• Powder

We rode:

• Mellow slopes
• Steep slopes

We stayed away from:

• Alpine slopes

The day was:

• Cloudy

Avalanche conditions

• 30cm + of new snow, or significant drifting, or rain in the last 48 hours.

Some spooky layers lingering in the snowpack are likely to become reactive, produce avalanches, once there is more load or density in the upper snowpack!

Disease ridge, 1850 m, NW asp, slope angle 30 degrees, snow depth 100 cm, temp -12

There is a 1 cm surface hoar window, big feather like crystals that pop out like a grey line in the snowpit wall, 45 cm below the surface of F density. This was on Dec 9th!

Below is facets down to a crust complex down 65 cm. Two 1 cm crusts with a 4cm window of large facets between is present - that's what's called a crust complex.

Below the two crusts are large facets to ground of consistent density 4F to 1F.

The surface hoar is collapsing in snowpack tests but there is no cohesive/dense slab above the surface hoar yet. Wind, milder temps or more snow could create a slab above the surface hoar.

We had repeated moderate sudden planar result below the crust complex and in between it. What that means is that the entire column of snow collapsed and slid off, like an old school cash register.

The cold temps and thin snowpack has created large facets in most of the snowpack, the crusts have acted like a vapour barrier and created extra large facets between and below the crusts. Watch how this develops are more snow arrives!

Caution shallow areas and large planar slopes, especially where the ground is not rough!