Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Spatial variability was the theme of the day in Nambe. Up near the ridge, coverage ranged from 1'-1", with many rocks poking through. The snow was firm with minimal ski penetration. The leeward side of the chute held soft snow, but I stayed away from the wind deposit. Further down the slope, the snow got softer. I dug a pit at about 11700 on a N facing slope and found a right-side up snowpack, and did not get any failures during CT. Only feet to the west (rider's right) the snow appeared wind affected. Hand pits revealed a 1F/4F ~4 cm windslab sitting on top of approx 30 cm of F density facets in the area that I thought was wind affected. Distribution of this windslab was highly variable, but appeared to be more present on the Western 3/4 of the bowl. The pit profile I have uploaded I would say is only representative of the small location that I dug on, and I would be hesitant to extrapolate that to the far western or eastern sides of the bowl. I took one step towards the bottom of the chute that sounded hollow, but this was the only time I heard that. I did not experience any collapsing or cracking in my very small sample.