Quick report
- Collapsing
- isolated
Our tour up Copper Mountain provided evidence of the recent avalanche cycle accompanying the storm over the past couple of days. We observed 4 large natural avalanches on Copper Mountain today (and a few more while driving). These all seemed to be tied to wind loading but also appeared to break widely and connect through terrain features - clear signs of persistent slab avalanches. The winds were consistently moderate to strong all day, were actively transporting snow, and were felt most above 8,000'. Our only pit yielded unstable and repeatable test results. Snow surfaces moistened on sun-facing slopes below 7500' by 2:30pm.
We observed a smattering of natural avalanches in the immediate vicinity of Copper Mountain and while driving to/from in the Sawtooths. These avalanches primarily occurred on E, NE, and N aspects at elevations above 8,000'. Most of the observed avalanches appeared to have some wind-affect and broke more deeply than purely new snow instabilities.Weather
- Air Temp
- 25
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Rain Elevation
- 7500
- Recent Snowfall
- 25-35
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Morning cloud cover broke up as we drove north, and we enjoyed mostly clear skies overhead starting around 11am. Consistent moderate to strong W and NW winds were blowing all day and transporting snow primarily above 8,000'. Temperatures warmed to above freezing at ~7500' by early afternoon.
Snowpack
- The mid-storm rain line seems to have topped out around 7500' on Copper Mountain, with cold snow sitting on top of and below a moist mid-storm layer
- A thin 2/22 crust exists with small-grained facets above and below on W, SW, and S aspects all the way to the top of Copper Mountain (8900')
- We dug a quick pit at 8350' on a WNW aspect (HS190) and found thin crusts between each of our February storm layers and propagating unstable results on small facets above the 2/16 crust buried ~50cm below the surface (ECTP25 and PST 27/100 END)
- Snow surfaces were moistening on slopes facing the sun below 7500' by 2:30pm
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Count
- 7
- Aspect
- NW
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 10000 ft
We observed 4 large natural avalanches while on Copper Mountain today and an additional 5 while glassing on the way there and back from Highway 75. These avalanches primarily occurred on E, NE, and N aspects at elevations above 8,000'. Most of the observed avalanches appeared to have some wind-affect and broke more deeply than purely new snow instabilities.