Professional Observation
Basic Information
Observation Details
Observation Date:
January 7, 2020Submitted:
January 7, 2020Observer:
SAC - Savage, Frost, SkinnerZone or Region:
Soldier and Wood River Valley MtnsLocation:
Wells Summit to Worswick Hot Springs: Wardrop, Basalt, Little Smoky, Red Rock Cks - 5400-7200', most aspectsSigns of Unstable Snow
Recent Avalanches?
None ObservedCracking?
None ExperiencedCollapsing?
None ExperiencedSnow Stability
Stability Rating:
GoodConfidence in Rating:
ModerateStability Trend:
Bottom Line
Two hour sled ride with the main goals being to look for recent avalanche activity and terrain familiarization in an area opened to public use last winter. Observed natural avalanche activity was on obvious wind-loaded features and cross-loaded slopes. No recent activity from past couple days.
Advanced Information
Weather Summary
Cloud Cover:
Partly CloudyTemperature:
20s F to low 30s F in parking lotWind:
Light2-5cm (1-2") new snow from yesterday/last night, very little wind. Previous winds had moved a lot of snow on exposed slopes.
Avalanche Observations
| # | Date | Location | Size | Type | Bed Sfc | Depth | Trigger | Comments | Photo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Within the past week |
Little Smoky Ck drainage near Carrie Ck and Worswick Hot Springs S 6000-6500' |
D1.5 | HS | N-Natural | We observed about 10 small (D1-1.5) slides on W, SW, S, SE, and E aspects. All occurred in obviously wind-loaded terrain at lower/middle elevations. They were a mix of soft and hard slabs. |
|
||
| 2 | Within the past week |
N Fork Soldier Ck - point 8238 S 8000' |
D2 | U | N-Natural | Two slides observed on this face, S aspect and SE aspect. Both obviously wind loaded areas (strong NW wind event). | None |
Smaller slides failed on a mixture of 12/31 FC+crust and 12/7 FC+crust.
Snowpack Observations
30-90cm depth, much deeper as we moved north from Wells Summit. Surface was mixture of wind slab+sastrugi+decomposing powder. Some pinwheeling in surface snow below 6500' on W and SW (yesterday or day before?), but no new surface crusts observed. 12/31 FC+crust on solar aspects, just FC on shady. Solar slopes had obvious crust+FC at 12/7 layer, fairly low in the pack. Shady slopes had a mixture of SH and FC (SH more prominent closer to 7000'). No old Sept/Oct depth hoar noted. No formal tests performed. Non-standard hand shears and tap tests showed 12/31 layer was not very touchy but still produced clean shears.
Avalanche Problems
| Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wind Slab
|
|
Layer Depth/Date: 12/31 Snowmobilers had played on all the easily accessible little wind features near Wells Summit with no slides. |
|||
Persistent Slab
|
|
Unknown |
Layer Depth/Date: 12/31, 12/7 12/7 is widespread but differs in appearance (either SH, FC, FC+crust). 12/31 only seemed to be an issue on W-S-E, but this may have been as much due to wind-loading as the weak layer structure. |
Terrain Use
We did not ride on slopes over 30* - most of the avalanche terrain near our route ended on roads or in terrain traps. We did comfortably travel in terrain traps (on roads alongside creeks) below ugly slide paths.
Close