There was some wet loose avalanche hazard on steep, rocky slopes that directly faced the sun + were sheltered from breezes + had more than a foot (30cm) of snow, especially where there was no or little sage. Many SE-S-SW-W slopes are mostly dirt or very thin snow cover from Hailey to Ketchum. There was a short time window when the SE aspects with snow were supportable on Friday. E aspects were mostly supportable Thursday but produced several small, natural wet loose slides Friday in sheltered, rocky areas below about 7000'. NW slopes got "soggy" Friday afternoon, and N+NE were moist to the ground where the snowpack was less than 18" (45cm) deep.
Clear and warm Thursday, warmer with increasing high clouds Friday. Decent freeze both nights. Friday night at 11 PM: 36-38F at valley floor Ketchum-Hailey with very thin high clouds - not sure if the snowpack will freeze tonight, and it will probably be a light freeze if it does.
# | Date | Location | Size | Type | Bed Sfc | Depth | Trigger | Comments | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
several |
Hailey - Ketchum, along HWY 75 (Carbonate, KOA Chutes, Grumpy Chutes on Baldy) E 5600-7000' |
D1.5 | WL | O-Old Snow | 6-10" (15-25cm) | N-Natural | I saw 6-10 D1-1.5 wet loose slides. All were in rocky areas, E aspects, little substantial vegetation, likely sheltered from the wind. They left a little snow in the tracks, probably a weak crust that hasn't melted/eroded yet. | None |
Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wet Loose |
|
Layer Depth/Date: Just above ground Comments: Sensitivity would have ranged from unreactive when frozen to touchy when naturals were occurring sometime on Friday. |
I skied in some avalanche terrain when it was supportable/corn but not when it was unsupportable/like oatmeal. I avoided steep, rocky terrain for both avalanche and ski base preservation reasons.