Avalanche Education Calendar - FOBP

[FiveLarge]

I don't think I'm familiar with this cocoa test...what is that all about?

[Hacksaw]

Nice photos MIr. Thanks for not showing me fall on my ass for the first time this season.

For doing that we won't talk about your new pants or "hiking gear."

HM

[Hacksaw]

The all new super-duper cocoa test












Shear test

I knew once Mir took, photos of the "coco test," I'd have to explane it on TGR.

Actualy the "coco test," isn't that new. Lots of my former students have seen me do the "coco test."

The "coco test," grew out of what Dr. Bruce Jamieson, once showed me while I was at Mike Wiegele's. He was trying to find away to film shear and compression tests in how the layers fail, and have them show up on film. What he wanted to show is where very thin, and hard to see layers are starting to shear or compress. Through trail and error he came upon the idea of "spraying" the pit wall or column face with a dark substance. When the column failed ( in shear or compression) the face of the column with the dark substance would show a sharp line across it where the two different layers came togather (via shear or compression). If you look closly you and see in the photo at the tip of my little finger a shear starting to happen. Ay way, Dr. Jamieson found dry hot coco powder proved to be the best substance for doing this test.

When you have the front face of your test column covered in coco and you test it, when shear or compression failures happen. The front face of the test column fails it brings the two faces togather and you get a "sharp" dark line across the face of the column. The coco powder, from above and below sort of jam togather to form a dark line at the plane of failure. When you have this happen you have a fairly sharp dark line across the face of the tes t colunm. The "coco test," is just a means of beter seeing shears and compression failures in your snowpits (mainly its a GREAT teaching tool).

Any way, what you do is take the dry coco powder (don't use the coco powder with mini-marshmeoows) and sprikle it along the edge of you "pitcard." Then you gently blow the powder on to the face of your snowpit/column that you want to test (see photos). Once you have "covered," the front face of the snowpit/column you can do your standard tests. The coco powder helps you see shears and compression failures "sooner," then you might normally see them.

And before anyone jumps my case about "polluting the mountains" with coco powder, that a second and think about it.

I have only used a minor ammout of coco, that will be diluted in the runoff of the spring. If anything your pissing in the backcountry causes more "pollution," then coco powder does.

The "Coco Powder Test," is not a new test. Its just another way of trying to see shear and compression failures within your snowpit tests.

I used the coco test method today, because the snowpit today dident have any obviously "failure layers." I was only able to pick-up the test column with some very gental afnessing. The hardest layer within the column was 4 finger hard. If you do it right you can pick-u the column without breaking it (Nice shot Mir).

What really suprised me today was that the snowpit was only 48cm deep, and only the bottom 24cm was faceted crystals. And of that 24 cm's the bottom third was what I'd call imature depth-hoar (PLEASE remember that this is in THIS LOCATION ONLY).

The scary part about today's snowpit was that the bottom layer temp was -0.3 degrees C and the top layer was -14.2.degres C so, within 48 cm we have a temp gradient of 14 degrees. Which means its right at the cusp of takinging off at fully faceting. I have seen this may times before. So, stay tuned....

Any way, it was a fun day. And after Mir and I went back to the cars (she had a lunch date.... ) I went skiing at Loveland. It was a fun day for me.

Cheers,
Halsted "Hacksaw" Morris

[Hacksaw]

Cool photos. it looks to me like a cohesive slab with a low quality sheer and only about 40cm of snow? No results from the tap test. Must be bomber out there...but is it?

This is good and what I was getting at above: in Canada it is possible to hire certified guides for private avy courses, but they must be ACMG or IFMGA certified. Is it possible to hire someone in CO for advanced snow study? Or do I just stay off anyhting steeper than 30 degrees this year? Halsted what do you charge for a guided day like today with snow study? Looks like the perfect day for digging...

Rednas,

Actually, its not a very cohesive slab (see comments on Coco powder test). I wouldn't say "bomber." The thing I ran into skiing out to the trailheard was one second it was supportable windslab and the next refaceted near surface powder skiing. Deep down I couldn't feel any slab with ski pole tests. No cracking or collapsing.

At the momment I do not have a forest service permit to guide or conduct classes on forest service land (yes, I should have started the paperwork before I left the CAIC.... ). Saying what I would charge you for a private course, here on a public forum wouldn't be a good idea at the momment. There are a few current permit holders that I don't need to piss off.

As for a good day of pit digging, it was good. No spindrift blowing around. But it was kind of cold -10.2C/13.6F.........

Cheers,
Halsted

[lemon boy]

thanks for posting that Hacksaw, I was gonna ask this morning. Brilliant.

[shera]

Nice photos MIr. Thanks for not showing me fall on my ass for the first time this season.

For doing that we won't talk about your new pants or "hiking gear."

HM

Everyone loves my pants. You're just a fuddyduddy. I do own a pair of stretch pants that I wear on gaper day.

And I did my share of hiking and skiing on Bross. The tank was empty yesterday. I ate at least five plates of food at the Red Orchid. Most of it was shrimp.

[Joey Joe Joe Junior Shabadoo]

Thanks for the explanation on the coco powder. Thats pretty interesting.

[fortysix&2]

Very cool idea. Thanks for the info!

[Rednas]

Good to point out that those results are only good for THAT EXACT SPOT. I called it a cohesive slab since nothing seemed to go in the compression test and you were able to lift the whole column out after you performed your test. Imagine 48cm of facets. Not very fun. Sounds like spatial variability will be a huge concept in Colorado this year. Still not very fun. I am beginning to think that Colorado is a better bicycling state than skiing state.

[Hacksaw]

I am beginning to think that Colorado is a better bicycling state than skiing state.

In the recent Avalanche Review Jerry Roberts of the CAIC Silverton office had an article about forecasting for the highway 550 area in the San Juans. He has a great quote from Burnie Arndt (long time snow viewer of the San Juans). He said:

" Forecasting the Colorado snowpack is not unlike attending to a very disturbed psychiatric patient. You have to make accurate observations, occasionally poke him in the belly, and then create a list of appropriate questions to ask, or the answers could be very misleading with things that you really don't want to know."

That about sums up the way you should think of the Colorado snowpack (actually any Continetal snowpack area) as.

Cheers,
Halsted

[pechelman]

bump for this tuesday
planning on going with the gf

[STD]

bump for Breckenridge class this Tue Dec. 5.