The sun initiated a couple of small wet loose avalanches this morning. Some midday scattered clouds likely helped to curb additional activity. I found weak snow near the ground, but it was not a concern in the terrain I traveled (uniformly deeper, mostly sheltered terrain).
Mostly sunny in the morning increasing to partly cloudy by noon. Light wind from the W and NW.
# | Date | Location | Size | Type | Bed Sfc | Depth | Trigger | Comments | Photo |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 |
Pole/Twin Cr Divide E 9,500 |
D1 | WL | N-Natural | Based on the aspect, morning sun, and warmer overnight lows, I believe these occurred this morning. | ||||
1 |
Beaver Peak between Beaver Creek and Eureka Gulch (Sawtooths). E 10,000 |
D1.5 | SS | I-New/Old Interface | 6-12" |
AS-Skier u-Unintentional |
This slide was reported yesterday. There is an additional image (from today) below. From a public ob: It broke about 30 feet wide, 6-12" deep, and ran about 300' vertical. It was a wind loaded pocket that fractured on a sun crust, which was only present on the most solar aspect of this feature. |
8,600', 310* WSW, HST 5-8 cm, HS 140 cm:
Middle elevations to about 9,200' generally had 120-140 cm of snow. I noticed weaker snow just off the ground with several pole pokes on different aspects. In the location where I dug to the ground, the weak layer was 4F but inconsistent (hardness varied across the pit wall) and felt to be gaining strength. There were no other obvious weak layers. Snow near the surface was F->4F. Midpack was a strong 100 cm layer of 1F.
Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persistent Slab |
|
Layer Depth/Date: 120 cm Comments: Pole pokes indicated a noticeably weaker layer of snow just off the ground in many areas. Distribution on the rose is based on weather history, previous obs and where I believe this problem is more of a concern—namely thinner, wind-affected alpine terrain. |
I only observed a few wet loose avalanches in the White Clouds. Partly cloudy skies (after a mostly sunny start) likely helped keep this problem in check.
With a partner, I would have skied much of what I looked at today barring heavily wind-sculpted, rocky, alpine terrain.