Observation 2/24/2025 local_see
Snow Pit Shovel Shear and ECT
Giant Mountian Wilderness
Observation Details
On the NE aspect of Iron Mountain, at 2000 ft in elevation, I dug a snow pit and performed a shovel shear and ECT. The snow depth at that elevation was 95 cm. I observed a weak layer of highly faceted snow crystals at the very bottom of my pit between the leaf litter and the snow above. It was very sugary and would fall out of the observation wall at the slightest touch. This is constant with a persistent weak layer problem that others have seen elsewhere in the Greens and Adirondacks. Other layers were observed as well and can be seen in the photos.
For my shovel shear test the whole column failed with the slightest pry of my shovel at the weak layer at the bottom. For the ECT the results were a little more favorable. The column did not fail and propagate on the first test and remained intact. During the second try on a different spot on the same column, I got an ECT 22. The failure occurred on the bottom layer of weak snow next to the ground.
Observation Photos
Weak Layer open_in_new full size
This is a close up of the bottom of the snowpack showing the weak layer.
