Suff Central

Quick survey to monitor storm accumulations and verify avalanche forecast. 

• 8-14" new snow since morning of 4/9. Significantly more than models forecast.
• 1st 2" of new snow (from 4/9) well bonded to crust but snow above low density and cohesionless, with a clean shear between layers. No evidence of cohesion/ slabs, however.
• New snow sluffed easily on steep slopes, even tree wells, and entrained substantial snow as it moved downslope (avalanche tab). As the day progressed and more snow accumulated, the initial sluffs were larger and entrained more snow as they ran on the 4/9 melt-freeze crust. They were definitely large enough to injure a person carried into trees. Fortunately, the debris was soft and and allowed easy turns.
• No evidence of wind effects in the mid-elevation terrain where we traveled, except for large dunes along the ridge from last week. 
• THe best riding was on moderately angled slopes, where turns didn't bounce off the underlying crust andrequired no sluff management.
• SKiing difficult on steep sidehills.
• CLouds and heavy snow made navigating tough, even in the trees. "We need Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," said one partner.

All that loose snow will be easily blown around when the winds pick up. 

Pics to follow.