Today we sought sun and shelter from the NNE winds in the Showboat area just north of Mt Troy and Eagle Creek Pass so we could do pitwork without frozen fingers. Michael Penn came along to take photos for an upcoming Juneau Empire article.

The weak layer of facets over faceted melt freeze persist at 30 cm below the surface, and at our near-ridgeline site, the weakness 20 cm down in the soft windslab was more pronounced than in our ridgeline tests Tuesday. The upper layers were all turning faceted and sugary today, and the weak layer within the windslab was weaker due to its faceting.

The windslab we tested was a few days old now, and had less stored energy. Slab tests on it scored #2 to #3, ripping out less than the full undermined area fairly cleanly, but without the #1 energy it had when it was fresh.

In areas with more active drifting today, the slabs were harder and more sensitive than at our test site. It is likely that the fresh windslabs would release much more easily than those we tested. Fresh windslab areas should be avoided.

Our block tests showed the spatial variability of the weak layer that we noted when it was on the surface last Sunday. Our Rutschblock was in a spot where the weak faceted layer had blown away and left only the faceted melt freeze crust. The immediately adjacent AK Block had a very sugary weak layer of facets over the crust. The windslab overlying the weak layer was also thicker in the AK Block.

The Rutschblock tested at a much stronger #4 (first gentle jump) Quality 2 (average) on the weakness 20 cm down in the windslab and #6 (multiple hard jumps) Quality 3 (irregular and slow) on the main weak layer at 30 cm depth. The AK Block scored a much weaker #2 (just starting to weight the first ski on the block) Quality 1 (clean and fast) on the upper weakness and a #4 (first gentle jump) Quality 2 (average) on the lower weakness.

The principle to remember when evaluating snow stability is that fracture begins in the weak spots and propagates into the stronger areas. The weaker test values are thus the most representative of overall snowpack strength. So consider the AK Block results as the most reliable ones today.

Areas where the snowpack is scoured to the icy melt freeze crust are unlikely to be an avalanche problem until they are loaded, and areas of loose snow not affected by wind or drifting are much less sensitive than they were two days ago. The loose snow is faceting, turning sugary, does not function well as a slab, and shows no shooting cracks or other signs of instability.

Eaglecrest plans to open tomorrow. Dress warmly, enjoy the sunshine, and if you venture out of bounds be sure to avoid windloaded areas, pick your terrain with care, follow risk reduction travel procedures, and have your avalanche gear ready.