Avalanche: LSB North

We encountered mostly stable snow conditions in Upper Cardiff Fork today with pockety, manageable, sensitive wind-drifts on NE and E aspects. The largest slide triggered today was on the NE aspect of LSB. Interesting conditions here where the NW winds from the end of the storm scoured the surface leaving a sculpted, benign look. Most of the snow was being transported onto the south face. The first skier traveled around and to the right of the steep ominous pocket. I was the second skier. A few turns into the run I noticed a deeper pocket at a steep breakover and pulled up to ski cut it. The slide failed at my skis at a density change between the last two storms and propagated 30' wide. It stopped at the transition to lower angle 3/4 of the way down the slope. The debris was only a foot or so deep and not likely enough to bury someone but still, you wouldn't want to be caught up in it. I think the gusty NW wind contributed to stiffening the snow from the last two storms creating the slab on an aspect that was also getting scoured. Not your normal windslab.

Another small avalanche was triggered on the east face of Cardiac Ridge involving just the 5"-6" of new snow. It traveled very slowly and stopped after 200' right as the slope angle changed. At one point I counted 22 people on Cardiac Ridge at one time including 5 riders from the helicopter. Busy Busy.

We also noticed some small DL-N's on the NW aspect in Holy Toledo originating in the steep rock bands. They were also relatively inconsequential with the exception of messing up the good skiing.