Sawtooth Avalanche Center

Public Field Report

Observation Details

Observation Date:
February 6, 2022
Submitted:
February 9, 2022
Zone or Region:
Banner Summit
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
Capehorn

Signs of Unstable Snow

None reported

Observations

We rode steep North facing terrain before ~11am, skiing it 1 at a time and regroup out of any potential slide paths. The conditions were predominantly good for skiing with some variable wind crust on the surface in the upper 1/3 of the slope. The weather was perfect in the morning eventually getting a little too warm. Hitting low to mid 30's in the after noon. Prior to skiing we did a full pit on a fairly representative slope that yielded and ECTN 27 about 50cm down on what I think are probably healing facets. The pit was on a N-NE aspect at around 8300' and we skied N facing at 8700'. Snow height was 190cm. We were also doing some Lyte probe testing in our pit for comparison/research.

Media

Pit location at 8300' on a N-NE Aspect
Public Field Report: Capehorn
Initial fracture of our ECT 27 at ~50 cm down
A small view of the failing surface from our ECT
Lyte probe testing with hand hardness comparison