Avalanche

Mt St Helen’s Monitor Ridge / Worm Flows

Avalanche.org observerWest Slopes South
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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2

Quick report

Icy conditions in the morning from treeline to around 6000’. We found wind blown low density snow over a hard crust above 6000’. The sun came out for about an hour in the late morning before some new snow and whiteout conditions, after which visibility improved somewhat. accidentally triggered a wind slab avalanche on the slope between monitor ridge to worm flows in an area of relatively deeper wind loaded snow. Below the weather station in the afternoon, snow was wet and heavy and we observed many large rollerballs.

Avalanche

accidentally triggered between monitor ridge and worm flows. ~8” crown depth, 30 feet wide, ran for a couple hundred feet. slope angle around 35 degrees