Quick report
- Collapsing
- specific
We are in a period of gradually worsening wet snow problems; today's wet issues became notably worse than yesterday's. This problem developed slowly (a round of great corn earlier in the day) but had become an issue by mid afternoon on steep S-SW aspects at upper and middle elevations. Didn't feel like the kind of day that you would be seeing natural activity (we didn't), but pushing small, sluggish, dense slides was common in steep solar terrain in the afternoon. Most slides were D1 but we did trigger a single D1.5 that moved slowly but would have been inescapable if you'd been caught in it (very dense, wet debris). All wet activity was taking place above the late-March crusts. By late afternoon/early evening we were encountering snowpacks that were holding water all the way to the ground on middle elevation slopes on the southern 2/3 of the compass. The major set of crusts in the upper snowpack (which has been forming/gaining mass and thickness during the several melt events in March and April) became variably unsupportable to foot and sleds by day's end. Off-trail valley-bottom riding was trap-door-mush and encountering hidden rocks was a major concern. Upper elevation due N stayed cold today and offered some excellent skiing. We did not encounter any reactive wind slabs in this terrain, but we were looking for them. Wet collapses were common on sheltered mid and lower elevation slopes in the late afternoon. These did not travel further than about a foot from ski tips.
Weather
Generally clear skies with high stringers of stratus passing overhead, doing little to limit solar input. Light, westerly winds with occasional stronger gusts were blowing periodically. Winds were generally restricted to well exposed upper elevation terrain (prominent peaks and ridgelines). Cloud cover was increasing significantly over the Sawtooths around sunset.
Avalanche
Avalanches triggered refers to intentionally triggered small (mostly D1 with a single D1.5) wet loose slides.