Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
- Collapsing
- isolated
Intense westerly winds elevated the Wind Slab problem to the primary hazard, with the greatest impact observed in alpine terrain. Sustained transport was evident throughout the day, with consistent snow plumes visible along ridgelines in the Boulder and Smoky Mountains. Snowfall amounts at exposed mid-elevations appeared limited and difficult to assess due to ongoing wind redistribution. Accumulations were below forecasted totals in these areas; the best guess is 3-5". We had cracking and collapsing in wind-loaded pockets, failing on the January drought layer. Collapses were isolated to pillows.
Snowpack
Both Tornak and Coyote had SWE values of 0.45" in their buckets from the 2/23 storm cycle.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Count
- 4
- Aspect
- E
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 9500 ft
Multiple avalanches across this face at the headwaters of Apollo. Some avalanches were released mid-slope by debris from Wind slabs above.