Quick report
The BNSF snow safety team spotted a hard slab avalanche on Elk Mountain Thursday, March 16. We decided to take a closer look at this slide.
- The avalanche occurred at 6600 feet on a wind-loaded east aspect. The failure layer was 10 cm thick, large-grained facets near the ground. These facets formed in November.
- The crown varied between 1.5 - 6.5 feet thick and was 150 feet wide. We believe the avalanche initiated where the crown tapered into rocks.
- The top part of the debris field consisted of large chunks of hard slab debris.
- Surprisingly, we found 2-6" of dry snow in shaded aspects at low and mid-elevations. Areas exposed to the sun softened this afternoon and skied a little like corn.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 30
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- none
- Rain Elevation
- 2000'
- Recent Snowfall
- 0
- Snow Avail For Transport
- none
Snowpack
Areas exposed to the sun had a surface crust this morning, which softened by the afternoon. Slopes sheltered from the sun still hold dry, loose snow.
Avalanche
The BNSF snow safety team submitted an observation on March 16 on this site regarding this slide.