Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches, Wind Loading
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>The wind seemed to be cross loading E facing slopes and loading W-NW facing slopes. Recent glide avalanches were also noted. </p>
Went up Broads Fork hoping for visibility in the afternoon but it never came. Was curious about glide activity after the large amount of snow we received in the last couple weeks. Once again there was a large, recent glide slide in the usual place just S of the Diving Board, I know these are supposed to be a springtime event but I no longer believe this seeing that I've seen multiple glide avalanches this year occurring in cold weather in the heart of winter. This slide had a crown up too 8ft deep and brought down some car size boulders with it. The problem with this avalanche path is it feeds down into the trees which a lot of people use to put in an up track because they feel safer in the trees than on the open slope. These slides are not to be messed with, they contain blocks of solid ice and boulders and it's best just to avoid their run outs because they are impossible to predict and may pull out at any random time. The main E facing slopes we're getting a bit slabbed up from the constant wind blowing up the slope and cracking in the new snow was noted.
photos: of the glide avalanche and a couple videos showing the slide
Snowpack
There was probably 3 inches when I arrived and about 5 when I left at 2:30pm. The new snow was mostly graupel. Below 7000ft the snow was damp not only on the surface but down into the pack.