Snowpit Sawtooth Peak- west face

Location Name: 
Sawtooth Pk.
Region: 
Lick Creek Area
Date and time of observation: 
Sun, 01/03/2016 - 12:55
Location Map: 
United States
44° 59' 49.92" N, 115° 55' 51.6" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

We purposely sought out a steep wind loaded slope to dig a pit and perform stability tests. I was hoping that the wind loaded terrain would make for more exciting test results...  

Snowpit or crown profile photo or graph: 
Snowpack photos: 
CT19 @ 65 cm from snow surface. Black card indicates where failure occured
Hardness profile from pit on Sawtooth Peak. 8080 feet on west facing slop. Purposefully dug in wind loaded high elevation terrain
Wind has mad minature spines and ribs on west face of Sawtooth Peak
Many solar recieving slopes now have a 2-4 cm suncrust
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
50% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Northwest
Accumulation rate: 
More detailed information about the weather: 

 A skiff of new snow fell in the morning up Lick Creek, but had stopped by 0930. Gusty winds in the afternoon, with the arrival of warm front, blew the new snow around making new thin wind slabs.