Submitted by: Red River Ski Patrol
| Location: | Red River Ski Area |
| Date: | Dec 1, 2009 | Temp (C): | 1.6 |
| Wind Speed: | 10 | Wind Direction: | W |
The latest storm was a bust for us.
Snow Pack is at 40 cm above 10,000 ft:
The bottom 12 cm is rounds with temps around -1.38 C (29.5 F).
The lower pack shows evidence ET-Metamorphism and is bonding well.
The top 28 cm is facet crystals (sugary, TG) with temps at about -2.22 C (28 F)
There is a small surface crust layer that varies from 2 mm to 1 cm thick from shade to sun affected areas.
While the bottom layer is solid and stable the upper layer is weak and with any new snow an adequate sliding surface exists.
Around 9,500 ft:
The snowpack is considerably different and divided into 8 layers.
Total Snow Pack 34cm
The bottom 7 cm is depth hoar with a temp around -1.1 C (30 F).
The second layer is rounds and about 5 cm thick with a temp about -1.66 C (29 F).
Layer 3 is facet crystal and about 6 cm thick. Temps are -1.94 C (28.5 F).
Layers 4, 5, 6 and 7 alternate from rounds to facet crystals.
At layer 8 there is the same 2mm to 1 cm layer of surface crust as at higher elevations.
Temps range from -2.22 C (28 F) at layer 4 to -3.33 C (26 F) at the surface.
Mid-elevation snow pack shows evidence of being weak and very unstable.