Professional Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

New wind deposited snow on hard base is not adhering yet. Over 50 slides were visible, mostly steeper high elevation to 10,000ft. Most of these occurred during the recent storm event. This particular avalanche was created by a snowmobiler diving into an avalanche prone bowl, early into his ride. Numerous other adjacent slopes had slid during the storm.

Snow Stability

Bottom Line

We had a large avalanche in the cat ski area today. 3 snowmobilers went into the open area and one of them dropped into a large wind loaded slope that broke 3' deep as he entered the bowl. He was able to snowmobile out of the slide without being caught. The debris covered his track. The new snow is holding up well and there are some good turns to be had in elevations above the rain level. About 9,000' in the Soldiers. But, wind deposited snow is very brittle and these soft slabs are pulling much higher over the break over point than usual. The photo below shows a crack above the slide on a slope angle of 15 degrees. Avoid cornices and any wind loaded slopes. The new snow has not bonded to the older spring snow from before the storm. This particular avalanche had a 3' crown and pulled out the entire bowl, running full length.