Professional Observation
Basic Information
Observation Details
Observation Date:
March 13, 2020Submitted:
March 13, 2020Observer:
SAC - Lundy, StefanZone or Region:
Sawtooth and Western Smoky MtnsLocation:
Goat CreekSigns of Unstable Snow
Recent Avalanches?
YesCracking?
None ExperiencedCollapsing?
None ExperiencedSnow Stability
Stability Rating:
Very GoodConfidence in Rating:
ModerateStability Trend:
ImprovingBottom Line
Primary goal for today was a surface inventory for incoming storm. As expected, we found a mixed bag but overall weak surfaces seem more widespread than prior to last weekend's storm. The facet/crust instability on E aspects that produced a few triggered slides in the Banner Summit zone was not present here, with the slab from last weekend's snowfall having turned to facets. I suspect this is also the case on Banner.
Advanced Information
Weather Summary
Cloud Cover:
Partly CloudyWind:
CalmSkies started out FEW, but high clouds increased to SCT to BKN by mid afternoon. Winds were mostly calm, but did pick up a bit in the late afternoon.
Avalanche Observations
We observed a number of wet loose on solars - primarily the 3/7 storm snow sliding on the old crust. These were mostly D1, but 2-3 reached D1.5 in size. Some of these may have occurred within the past 48 hours. These were all about what you would expect and overall the activity was not as widespread as it might have been. We saw 2 very thin/small storm slabs that likely ran early this past week.
Snowpack Observations
On mid into upper elevation, E-N-W aspects, last weekend's storm snow has faceted and in places is sitting atop a bed surface of a crust or old wind hardened snow. Solar surfaces have a crust that should be less problematic. Alpine terrain runs the full gamut, with a lot of wind hardened surfaces and some areas of dappled near surface facets.
No corn in this area (at least at upper elevations), 3/7 storm snow has not baked down to old crust. We pushed on some ~40* SE slopes around 1400 and could get the 10-15cm of recent snow to slide a bit on the old crust, but it took some effort and you weren't going to get anything sizeable.
Avalanche Problems
| Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wet Loose
|
|
Layer Depth/Date: 10-15cm |
Some more wind effect (thin wind slab and some supportable hard slab) in the alpine from the mid-week NW wind event, but nothing was reactive.
Terrain Use
We didn't have any terrain closed in our trip plan, and didn't observe anything that caused us to step back.
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