Quick report
- Cracking
- Observed
- Collapsing
- Observed
I intentionally triggered a D1 dry loose avalanche composed of facets ("facet-lanche") in steep, sheltered terrain. It quickly traveled downslope roughly 500 feet and would have easily knocked you off your feet and sent you for a ride through some ugly terrain. These types of dry loose avalanches can pack a good punch thanks to the density of the faceted snow involved. I also experienced cracking and subtle collapsing in stiff, relatively recently deposited wind board (hard wind slabs). Triggering a small slide in steep terrain is the most likely way to get into trouble out there right now and I avoided these hard slabs where I found them in steep terrain. The presence of the 12/13 weak layer further down in the snowpack continues to drive the type of terrain that I'm comfortable entering. Cornices have grown quite large, thanks in part to the wind redistribution of the past few weeks; these will be great triggers for deeper avalanches when loading resumes or when things really warm up. I was able to trigger a D1 dry loose avalanche composed of facets in steep, sheltered terrain. I experienced cracking and subtle collapsing in stiff, relatively recently deposited wind board at middle and upper elevations.
Weather
Mostly cloudy to overcast for much of the morning. Cloud cover decreased in the late morning, allowing for plenty of sunshine throughout the afternoon and into sunset. A standing wave of lenticular clouds was sitting over the far western edge of the Smokys and Sawtooths at sunset. W/NW winds were steady at the low end of moderate, with stronger gusts.
Snowpack
Lots of variability in surfaces, but the general theme is facets, crusts, and wind board. We are several weeks into the construction of our next weak layer (the current snow surface). It looks like it will be a "productive" weak layer at this point, I expect we will be dealing with persistent slab issues relating to this layer for an extended period. I did not directly look at the 12/13 weak layer, but based on how much activity it produced during major loading events on either side of the New Year and the character of the slides, I will be keeping it on my list for the foreseeable future.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Count
- 4
- Aspect
- NW
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 9700 ft
In addition to the facet-lanche I triggered, I'm reporting some older avalanches that occurred in terrain that is not easily visible when driving on the highway.