Snow pit Stevens Peak

Location Name: 
Stevens peak NW face skiiers left Couloir
Region: 
St. Regis Basin
Date and time of observation: 
Wed, 12/09/2020 - 12:00
Location Map: 
United States
47° 25' 30.2268" N, 115° 46' 22.7568" W
See map: Google Maps
US


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

I dug a snow pit in the steep entry to the Couloir on the Northwest face of Stevens peak. It's the Lookers right Couloir. The shovel compression test fractured at 27 hits with a clean fracture at 80cm down.
I followed it up with an extended column test. I did not see the fracture happen during this test (30 hits) but when I went to pry the column from the top, it was detached in a clean fully propagated fracture at 115 cm deep. It's has been snowing through out the night. I am unsure the total as the wind has pushed it around. Probably not much more than 2 inches. The snow in the pit was of consistent texture except for the top 10cm which was a bit lighter. With out the
compression test I would have assumed that the snow pack was stable given the consistent well bonded nature. Additionally, the pit I dug was not far from the summit ridge, I suspect more snow was deposited there than further down the face due to its proximity the the windy top and the eddy effect.

Any other comments about the observation or links to outside pages that have more info on the observation: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
100% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature trend: 
Wind Direction: 
Northwest
Accumulation rate: 
Less than 1 in. per hour
More detailed information about the weather: