Quick report
Sunny skies and rapid warming temperatures persisted throughout the day. These factors were likely the cause of loose wet avalanches releasing. Debris varied in size from small sloughs to chunks of snow as big as cubic meter. Depth of debris measured up to 2.5 meters deep. Based on the instability of the surface snow and saturation we decided not to go any higher.
Rollerballs present on all aspects.Weather
- Air Temp
- 41
- Cloud Cover
- scattered
Skies were mostly sunny with scattered clouds cycling through. Winds were light from the north around 20mph.
Snowpack
New surface snow had settled and consolidated measuring 6-8 inches. Rapid warming and solar radiation made the new snow heavy and saturated. The old surface snow melt/freeze crust the avalanches slide on was discolored/dirty and was firmer than the new snowfall.
Avalanche
Fan shaped point release, wet loose avalanches were observed in Left Gully, Chute, Headwall, and Sluice with lumpy, chunky debris. The ravine experienced intense solar radiation and rapid warming during a window of clear skies, and this is when all avalanche activity was observed. Roller balls littered the ravine, including Hillman's Highway, Right Gully and Lobster Claw. Avalanches slid on the interface of a slick melt/freeze crust from rain on Sunday 4/30 and the new snow from the week. The combination of steep slopes, increasingly heavy and saturated snow from solar warming, and a slick surface created a perfect recipe for avalanche activity. The natural avalanches in Center Headwall and Sluice runout started below rocks and started in the bottom 2/3rd of the respective paths. This is where the new snow depths were the deepest and heaviest. The skier triggered Chute avalanche began at the choke. Skier reported that they were swept off their feet, carried a short way, unburied and uninjured. Debris in runouts measured from 1 -2.5 meters. We observed a crown line at the top of left gully with debris that ran the top third of the run.