Avalanche

Galena Pass

Ben VandenBosGalena Summit & Eastern Mtns
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Observation photo 1

Quick report

The snowpack on shaded slopes in the mountains is undergoing a major transition. Recent and long-lived weak layers that have remained dry all season are becoming wet for the first time. Wet slab activity on deeper weak layers is a concerning possibility. Remember that the primary weak layer that we dealt with this season (buried on 1/6, the insurrection weak layer), produced significant avalanche activity this winter. It would be surprising to not see wet slab avalanches failing on this layer at some point during the meltdown.

Avalanche

See attached photo. I did not take the time to stop and glass for avalanche activity, but I could make out plenty of recent wet snow debris piles while driving.