Professional Observation
Basic Information
Observation Details
Observation Date:
February 3, 2022Submitted:
February 3, 2022Observer:
TAC - Andy BondZone or Region:
Taos AreaLocation:
Long running dry loose snow avalanches and pockets of storm slabSigns of Unstable Snow
Recent Avalanches?
YesCracking?
IsolatedCollapsing?
None ExperiencedBottom Line
2 to 3 feet of low-density snow makes for deep trail breaking and slogging. It also forces you to make any semblance of turns on slopes steeper than 35 degrees. The main problem going forward is loose snow avalanches in steep terrain and sluff management. Thankfully the winds look to be calm over the next couple of days but even a light wind could easily transport or stiffen this light snow into cohesive slabs and change avalanche concerns going forward.
Media
Advanced Information
Weather Summary
Cloud Cover:
Partly CloudyTemperature:
- 5 to 10Wind:
Calm , NFrigid start to the morning with increasing clouds during the morning. Calm wind with no snow being transported. There are about 3 feet of low-density snow available for transport but winds were less than 5 mph.
Avalanche Observations
Natural avalanche activity was observed on all aspects and at all elevations. Most of the natural avalanches were small loose snow dry avalanches with others propagating in storm snow. All natural avalanches observed were less size 1 avalanches. I did hear a report of a small skier-triggered avalanche that failed all the way to the ground on a NE aspect below treeline, but did not propagate very wide.
Snowpack Observations
2 to 3 feet of low-density snow makes for deep trail breaking and slogging as ski penetration is nearly to the old existing snow surface. Dug one quick pit just to show the Fist - hard new snow, but was struggling to find cohesive snow in my travels. Seeing long-running loose snow avalanches off of the peak of Sin Nombre is a pretty good indication that we don't have widespread cohesive slabs in our mountains. I did observe pockets of storm slabs propagating less than 100' on west, north and east aspect at all elevations but these storm slabs seemed to be isolated and pocketed rather than widespread.
This much low-density new snow will force you into steep terrain (> 35 degrees) if you want to make turns.
Avalanche Problems
| Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dry Loose
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|
2 to 3 feet of very low density snow rests on top of facets and firm surfaces prior to this last storm. Many steep slopes relieved themselves naturally during the storm on Wednesday. If you slog you way up to a steep slope to ride the blower powder, sluff management is essential right now. | |||
Storm Slab
|
|
Winds have quieted down since early Wednesday morning where SW winds peaked at 50 mph. I did observe pockets of pockets of propagating storm slabs on West, North and East Aspects. These natural storm slab avalanches were not propagating very wide (100') but appeared to be failing on the old snow/new snow interface. |
Terrain Use
Deep slogging today, including downhill skinning, is it true that there can never be too much snow? You need to be on slopes over 35 degrees to even think about making turns.
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