This east facing slope at 8100 feet is comprised of facets. Nine days ago it was stronger, but the cold temperatures turned the snow crystals into large grains of unbonded snow. Here is a snowpit of this picture (http://www.mtavalanche.com/images/11/ski-hill-lionhead-0?size=_original) and here is a video of Eric Knoff explaining the snow structure (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDwWL8vMDyY). Photo GNFAC.
Advisory Year
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Advisory for Mon Dec 5, 2011