We went up Mt Stewart today to check the effect of the weekend thaw and the subsequent cooling and new snow.

We found more slides from the thaw cycle of January 20-22, including an R2 D2 size one on D006 Bowl E of Bunny Tow Pass that we estimated at 0.3 to 0.8 m deep, with a second step 0.3 m deep, 120 m wide, 270 m long, from 900 to 770 m, with a runout angle of 26°. It classified as SS-NO-R2D2-O. The others, on the lower portion of D007 N Bowl Mt Stewart, and on D002 Fish Cr Knob N Face, were all smaller slabs triggered by wet point releases. All classified as SS-NL-R1D2-O.

We did our tests on a roll at 880m in the upper part of the N Bowl of Mt Stewart to get some measurements on the higher elevation snowpack and to match the angle, elevation, loading, and aspect closely to that of the slide in D006. The slab probably fractured initially on our 96 cm (171 cm true height) layer and then stepped out to the 56 cm (131 cm true height) layer.

The block test values today were high and there were no signs of instability. The surface layer of the slab tested an insensitive #4 on the slab test, while the lower layers tested a sensitive #2.

Snow quality was turnable but grabby. The breakable semifrozen melt freeze crust just under the 12 cm of fresh snow at 142 cm (217 cm true height) caught edges. It was better on the higher slopes, trickier on the lower ones where the crust was more breakable.

We tried to do the Juneau Rounds, our standard urban paths transect, to check the activity on those paths, but were foiled by valley fog and poor visibility.