Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
Snow conditions were excellent. However, we observed several signs of instability: active snow transport, recent avalanches, and rapid snowfall. Interestingly, the strong westerly winds had variable effects on different aspects. For example, we observed cornice formation on a northwest facing slope and snow transport off an east facing slope. The combination of gusty winds and complex terrain likely caused inconsistent transport that was hyper localized to certain features in the area we skied. The southeast facing slope into Union Creek basin was generally not wind loaded. Snow remained in trees with 10-12” of fresh snow on the ground by 1:00. The wind that did penetrate the canopy did transport across slope. Snow fell continuously over the day and temperatures remained between 0 and -4 C. By the end of the day, around 14-18” had accumulated in Bullion Basin. This storm is packing a much needed punch!
Avalanche
Today, we observed several small avalanches (D0.5). The first was a natural wind slab that failed on the lee side of a small convexity on a northwest facing slope at approximately 6000’. The others were small storm slabs in the trees going up the west ridge of Bullion Peak after 2:30 PM. These small slabs cracked easily and failed upon isolation and the cracks propagated well downslope. Fortunately only 3-4” would break free, but the danger was definitely increasing over the afternoon.