Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- Collapsing
- specific
There was widespread natural avalanche activity during the storm on north through east aspects near and below treeline in this area. Few intact steep slopes were left after the storm, which made the overall avalanche hazard less worrisome, but the snowpack on intact slopes remains dangerous. The relentless collapsing and cracking on lower-angled slopes made it clear that any intact steep slope would be dangerous and likely produce a human-triggered avalanche.
We collapsed most of the terrain we crossed today. We traveled on northeast and east slopes up to 11,200 feet. There were few intact steep slopes (most avalanched during the storm) in this area, so we didn't remotely trigger any avalanches; however, if you found an intact slope in this area, it would likely avalanche.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- clear
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 60 (2 feet settled snow from Thanksgiving storm)
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Cold and clear. Light winds below ridgetop. On and off wind loading along ridgelines and high peaks. Winds loaded snow onto leeward east through south aspects.
Snowpack
Settled Thanksgiving storm totals were around 2 feet in this area. The slab is mostly fist hard, increasing to 4-finger hard with a small amount of 1-finger hardness right at the bottom of the slab (see profile). We continually produced collapses and shooting cracks. Most slopes steeper than 35 degrees naturally avalanched, so there were fewer dangerous slopes in that area due to the previous avalanche activity. Near ridgetop winds had drifted over old crowns and may have reloaded some paths with a new slab after the original avalanche. Sheltered areas had less than a foot of soft refill since the avalanche cycle and did not appear to pose a threat.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Type
- SS
- Count
- 6
- Aspect
- NE
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 11500 ft
The natural cycle was widespread on north through east slopes near and below the treeline. Many large slides and countless small avalanches occurred on smaller features. We did not see much avalanche activity on south and southwest above treeline terrain, contrasting with some of the avalanche activity on similar terrain in the deeper snowpack Northwest Mountains forecast zone.