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Collapsing Corn on Southeast and South facing Slopes
Location Name:
Southern Whitefish Range
Observation date:
Thursday, April 9, 2020 - 11:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
No
Observation made by:
Public
Tabs
Quick Observation
Between 9:00am and 10:30am the 2-4 inch crust on on Southeast facing slopes was supportable with and without skis and skied well from 6000 to 4000 feet.
Collapses in weak layers under the crust became common around 11am. These seemed to propagate out 2-3 yards from skis, with cracking in the snow barely discernable. Didn't seem like something to take chances with on steep slopes.
Didn't stick around for roller ball parade or loose, wet slide action. Rollerballs (softball-sized) on steep, SE facing slopes seemed to be from Monday.
At 11:00am, on top of a low-angle Southerly-facing slope at 5800' I dug a quick pit. Found several crusts and weak faceted layers in the top foot, and a thin layer of facets approximately two feet down. It will be interesting to see how these behave during the forecasted rain tomorrow evening.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
