Snowpack on Edge at Buck Ridge

We rode in through 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Yellowmule. There was 5-8” inches of recent snowfall. The only signs of instability we observed was some minor cracking in a drift at the entrance to Second Yellowmule. However, the problem is lurking just under the surface of the snow. Depending on the location, we found one to three layers of surface hoar in the upper 20” of the snowpack. At the top of Second Yellowmule we found repeatable ECTP1s and 2s on a layer of surface hoar 6” below the surface and repeatable ECTP 11s and 12s on a surface hoar layer 18” deep.

The depth and number of weak layers is somewhat irrelevant. The upper snowpack is on edge. Currently, human-triggered avalanches are likely on wind-loaded slopes. We choose to stay clear of avalanche terrain today. And, if tonight’s storm produces as forecast, we will be looking at an avalanche warning by tomorrow morning with natural and human-triggered avalanches likely to very likely. These could fail across wide sections of slopes and be triggered from a distance. We are preparing to stay off steep slope and clear of the runout zones.