Forecaster Observation - Blaine Mountain, Swan Range

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Blaine Mountain, Swan Range
Region: 
Swan Range - East Side (Hungry Horse Reservoir access)
Date and time of observation: 
Tue, 12/13/2016 - 14:00
Location Map: 

Red Flags: 
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

We toured up to Jenny Lake, Blaine Mountain in the Northern Swan Range.  Our goal was to get a look at areas that may have been impacted by wind to assess the extent of wind transport and whether or not we could find any formation of wind slabs.  There is obviously a lot of new snow and definite signs of wind transport, but no other signs of instability.  We dug a pit near the ridgeline on an East aspect at 6960 feet.

The snow in the upper 80 cm of the snowpack is not showing much for signs of settling or consolidating.  Density is fairly consistent fist to 4F.  Although there were signs of wind loading, no surface crusts or slabs were forming in this location.

We did find the early December Rain Crust that was 80 cm down and ~4mm thick, but was not reactive in stability tests.

An Extended Column Test and Compression Test were conducted with minimal results.

We did find a knife hard ice layer on the bottom 15cm of the pack.

Weather Observations
Cloud Cover: 
50% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Static
Wind Direction: 
Northeast
More detailed information about the weather: 

Clearing skies throughout the day.  Cold temperatures with very little wind even near the ridgeline.  No wind transport occuring but evidence of previous wind transport.

Activity: 
Skiing
High Temp. (C): 
-13
Low Temp. (C): 
-17