Skiumah windslab

Traveled up the Skiumah Creek drainage to observe conditions prior to this weekend's wintry weather.

• Large piles of debris were noted from last weeks stormy weather. Due to poor visibility, we could not determine what type of avalanche deposited this debris. 
• Swirling winds (southeast) affected the snow surface on open slopes exposed to the wind at low and mid-elevations.
• A stiff (P hard) 3-4" thick wind slab existed at mid-elevations on top of low-density snow with hand pits noting easy failure at this interface. In some exposed locations the stiff wind slab sat atop a 4" thick (4F) wind slab on top of low-density snow with hand pits noting easy failure at this low-density interface. 
• Wind transport was observed at mid-elevations throughout our tour.
• Instabilities noted today included cracking (common), shooting cracks <10', and collapsing (dense wind slab collapsing on top of low-density snow).