East of WMR

I only had a short window for a field day, so I took advantage of the easy access WMR, an FAC operational partner, provides.

• We found up to 12 inches of moist, heavy snow resting on a stout 4 to 6-inch crust between 5700-6700 feet. 
• On slopes steeper than 35 degrees, ski cuts produced wet loose slides that removed all of the snow above the crust. Rollerballs were also triggered, some of which became impressively large. 
• Interestingly, natural wet loose slides were generally small and unimpressive in the Skook Chutes.
• There remains plenty of snow in the trees on most aspects above 5500 feet available to fall as tree bombs during this weekend's warm-up. These will likely trigger multiple wet loose slides on steep slopes. 
• Wind-drifted snow was limited on the sheltered slopes we traveled, and there was a general lack of slab qualities to the surface snow. 

 

Cracking underfoot that only extended for a few inches. Natural and triggered avalanches were D1-1.5 in the area I traveled.