Snow Pack for February 21, 2007

Wednesday, February 21, 2007

By Brigid Mander

Snow's a-blowin'
The theme for our snowfall this year is, apparently, snow accompanied by wind. The new snow that has fallen has been joined by strong winds coming from all directions.

In addition to wind-scoured ridge tops and wind-affected slopes (which should be nice soft pow), wind-slab formations on leeward slopes continue to be something to watch out for as the week continues and we accumulate more snow with strong southwesterly winds.

Unlike some storms this season, whose resulting powder has been ruined by raging winds, this week’s snow hasn’t become too wind-affected so far.

As we go out in the backcountry, poking around reveals quite a bit of spatial variability on similar slopes — due in part to the winds coming from many directions — and exceptionally weak, faceted snow layers still lurk on cliffy, rockier slopes.

As these slopes begin to fill in and look more tempting, keep in mind the higher likelihood of failure in such areas.

And, of course, don’t forget about the deep layers of instability that still lurk, with buried sun crusts and layers of buried surface hoar, especially on southeast to northeast slopes.


PERMALINK:
Snow Pack for February 21, 2007 | Planet JH News Article: Snow Report Column

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