Quick report
It's been a wet week for the AIARE Pro 1 in the Baker backcountry. During the past 2 days we've observed heavy rain and infiltration of water throughout the snowpack. New waterfalls have appeared throughout the terrain and creeks and lakes have opened significantly. At our temporary weather site, the HS has decreased 60 cms from Tuesday-Friday. A natural avalanche cycle was observed on Wednesday in the Bagley Lakes drainage. We did not observe any new natural activity on Thursday, however our travel and visibility of terrain has been limited. During the week, we've observed formation of numerous new glide cracks and dramatic widening of glide cracks. A break in the precip this afternoon (3/20) provided slightly improved views of terrain. This revealed several new WS/D1 avalanches on the E side of Mt Herman and off steep N terrain on Table Mtn. We observed old natural avalanches from 3/18 as well as what might be a some new natural activity
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
Heavy rain this morning decreased around 1pm
Snowpack
Snow profiles on W aspects at 4375' near the Grandma's cabin produced CTM RP fractures and ETCNs on the 3/12 crust, now 15-20cms below the surface. One profile on a N aspect had a CTH SP and ECTN on the 3/8 crust 40cms down. Both crusts continue to lose strength and have gone from K hard to P hard. Large wet polycrystals are found below the 3/8 crust.
Avalanche
A thin crown was observed on E face of Mt Herman. This appeared to be D1 wet slab, unknown time. New debris was observed in Blueberry and Dog Chute, also D1 unknown time.