Slabs and Slabs

In the Flathead today we were looking for old and new wind slabs, and for persistent weak layers on the surface and below.

• We triggered 2 small wind slab avalanches with ski cuts around 6900 feet. These slabs were thin, relatively soft, and fresh. Light blowing snow was building drifts throughout our tour.
• Old hard slabs were stubborn to our kicking, cornice drops, and in an ECT. Though we did get enough cracking in older drifts to be wary.
• We found wind affected snow on all aspects and elevations. 
• We found no surface hoar in our travels.
• The upper snowpack has a strong temperature gradient at lower and middle elevations, and it has round grains beginning to facet. We got no propagation in our snow pits on these sugary grains, but they are something to track before more precip comes and loads them. The facets are the most developed where the snowpack is thinnest at lower elevations.
• A distinct layer of graupel 12 to 16 inches down was also stubborn in snowpack tests. Though we also found little sugar cubes squaring up amidst the icy Styrofoam balls.
• Recent snow has settled. We saw settlement cones around trees in sheltered terrain and the skiing was still soft, but no longer fluffy blower.