More cracking and collapsing in Hyalite
Skied in Hyalite today around 8200ft on some east-facing slopes adjacent to the creek.
HS 25-35cm. Facets on top of depth hoar.
On our first few laps, we did not observe any signs of instability.
We moved to another, slightly steeper area about 400 yards to the south and dug a pit on a 24-degree E-facing slope. ECTN27 up 15cm on a slight density change between the F hard depth hoar and F+ facets above. When we were almost at the top, I experienced a large, audible collapse and shooting cracks in a 10ft radius around me (picture attached). I dug a hand pit and did not observe any significant differences in snow structure or hardness from our test pit location.
We chose to transition and ski from that point. As I began to ski, the slope in front of me collapsed, with shooting cracks about 25ft in length. Both my partner and I experienced collapses the entire way down the slope while skiing.