Professional Observation - Canyon Creek, Whitefish Range

Location Name: 
Professional Observation - Canyon Creek, Whitefish Range
Region: 
Whitefish Range - Southern (south of Coal Creek)
Date and time of observation: 
Sun, 01/22/2017 - 15:45
Location Map: 

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

We hopped into our pit with the focus of finding buried surface hoar, and did we ever!  Buried ~ 15cm from the surface was a layer harboring 4-6mm preserved surface hoar (photo).  It proved reactive in stability tests, but would not propagate.  Beyond that, we found a collection of deeper buried faceted layers left over from the multiple cold snaps earlier this month.

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Cooling
Wind Direction: 
East
Accumulation rate: 
None
More detailed information about the weather: 

In the sun, tree bombs were melting and beginning to release as early as 1pm.  Easterly winds came in earlier than expected and had consistently shifted to the North East by 4pm.

Activity: 
Skiing
High Temp. (C): 
-2
Low Temp. (C): 
-6