Isolated hard slab adjacent to Bradley Meadow

Isolated hard slab adjacent to Bradley Meadow

Date
Activity
Snowboarding

We took our Avalanche Awareness class up to Bradley today.  We ascended up the southern flank of the meadow, and at about 100' below the top, we headed south just adjacent to the main meadow (lat. long. coordinates provided are at pit location).  We fanned out and dug 5 pits.  Four of them had an HS of roughly 60-65 cm, consisting of F storm snow with 4F below, the ocassional zipper crust, and then a bottom 15 cm or so of basal facets. ECTX in all of those pits.  

For the other pit, we seeked out a wind loaded area adjacent to the other pits.

Elevation 7751',  aspect 92 degrees, slope angle - 18 degrees, 

HS 110 cm

0-40 cm 4F to 1F

40-80 cm 1F+ to P

80-110 cm 4F Facets

ECTP21 at about 100-105 cm, just above ground within the basal facets

This result was in a very isolated piece of terrain.  Stomping around on the wind drift adjacent to the pit location, we saw no shooting cracks nor did we experience any collapses. The stout slab seemed to be keeping us from impacting the week layer until we isolated a column and banged on it with the shovel. It was quite the collapse when the crack propagated in the pit and the slab was thick, hard, and heavy to lift. It makes me curious of how this snowpack structure will respond if/when we put a significant snow load on it.

Just one result, but an interesting one.

 

 

 

 

Region
Bridger Range
Location (from list)
Bradley Meadow
Observer Name
J. Lipkowitz - Friends of GNFAC Instructor