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Taos Avalanche Center

Professional Observation

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
February 10, 2021
Submitted:
February 10, 2021
Observer:
TAC - Andy Bond
Zone or Region:
Taos Area
Location:
Long Canyon

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced

Media

Near-surface facets on the surface that made for good skiing today but could become the next buried weak layer with snow in the forecast this weekend
Avalanche path that had slid during the avalanche cycle end of January.  This is a shallow snowpack with facets above and below the old bed surface

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Mostly Sunny
Temperature:
20 - 30
Wind:
Light , W

Another warm sunny day for February.

Snowpack Observations

Went back into Long Canyon to see what was going on back in there. This spring weather has done a number on the lower elevation snowpack with south aspects melting back to bare ground. Overall below 10,000' we have a very shallow snowpack (less than 2') that is incredibly weak and faceted with melt-freeze crusts on the surface.

North and East aspects had widespread near-surface faceting which made for good skiing but will become our next buried weak layer with storms coming this weekend. Overall we continue to find a shallow faceted snowpack near and below treeline, with faceted weak layers slow to heal.

We skinned up an avalanche path that had slid during the end of January avalanche cycle. This path had filled in some with more recent snow but is incredibly shallow with depth hoar below the old bed-surface and weak near-surface facets above that crust. With such a widespread avalanche cycle and many slopes with a similar set-up to this, we may see many slide paths as repeat offenders if we do get a big storm and wind in the coming days.

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