Well hello there surface hoar

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Fern Creek, Apgar Range
Observation date: 
Monday, January 22, 2018 - 14:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
No
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Quick Observation

Toured in the Apgar Range to catalog rain crust within the snowpack and evaluate their likelihood to propagate.

  • 1/9 and 1/18 rain crust observed below 5400'
  • Above 5400', 1/9 and 1/18 rain crust absent in snow pit
  • Rime event...aka the "shutdown crust" was not observed during our tour
  • Graupel (1-3 mm) found approx. 18 cm below the surface and we hypothesized that it fell at the same time the rime event occurred in the Whitefish and Swan Ranges on 1/20
  • 2-4 mm surface hoar (down approx. 30 cm) produced ECTPs with moderate force and Q2 shears in compression test
  • No surface cracking or audible collapses observed during our tour
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Videos: 

January 22, 2018 - Surface Hoar Lurking in Apgar Range

Travel Details
Region: 
Glacier National Park - Apgar Range
Route Description: 

Skinned up Camas Road to the south side of Fern Creek. Ascended NE aspect to ridge-top.

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
N
NE
NW
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Buried
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
0.00in.
Total Snow Depth: 
198 cm
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Outside of test results, no signs of instability noted during our tour.
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: