Deep Creek observations

As our AIARE2 class toured up the south side of the Deep Creek drainage this morning, the temperature inversion was quickly evident as we gained elevation. Once we gained the ridge in the sun, temperatures were quite warm, with mostly clear skies and calm winds throughout the day. 

Snow on the south side of the ridge was wet when we gained the ridge in mid-morning. North-facing terrain held soft, cold snow, with surface hoar present in open areas down in the valley bottom. 

We noticed two whumpfs over the course of the day. The first occurred while skinning right next to the established skin track on the steep road at 6600' (north aspect), and the second, larger whumpf was also on a road in northwest-facing terrain at 7750'. Throughout our tour, we could feel the weak facet layer down roughly 40-50cm on northerly aspects by probing with our ski poles.

We dug some hasty pits in a north-facing road cut at 7700' (dropped pin location). The snowpack was slightly deeper here than in surrounding areas, with HS ranging from roughly 90cm to 120cm. While the 12/11 facet layer was clearly evident about 45-55cm below the surface, our test results did not suggest instability (ECTX, 3x CTM BRK down 45).