Quick report
I observed several small avalanches (not large enough to bury people) in alpine terrain from Galena Summit to Stanley. The slides appeared to involve the snow that fell since Jan 3rd, releasing as either loose snow sluffs or tiny wind slab avalanches.
Small dry loose and/or wind slabs, see details below.Weather
- Air Temp
- Single digits and teens F (colder in Sawtooth valley
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- previous
- Rain Elevation
- N/A
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
Increasing clouds from clear/partly cloudy to overcast/obscured as you move north from Ketchum to Banner Summit. No active wind transport. Some drifting and scallops/dunes in Boulder Mtns, and much less evidence of recent wind in Smoky and Sawtooth Mtns.
Snowpack
No formal observations - strictly roadside glassing.
Avalanche
I saw a handfull of small, D1-1.5 avalanches in alpine terrain. Locations = Pole Ck, Beaver Ck, McDonald Peak area, Parks Peak, Decker Peak area, Meadow Ck bowl on Williams Peak. All started at ridgeline or in the rocks in very steep (>40*) terrain. Most appeared to be loose snow slides, and a couple may have been very thin wind slabs. All the observed slides appeared to only involve the January snowfall or wind-transported snow.