Avalanche

Incline Peak

Alex PitmanCentral Sierra Nevada
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Quick report

Our party intentionally triggered multiple size D1 wet loose avalanches with ski cuts on a steep convex rollover in SE facing terrain around 9200’ at 1200. Although we were well aware of the upper snowpack being in a transitional state after the recent storm cycles, the weak overnight refreeze, the warm air temperatures and intense solar radiation, the lack of wind mid slope, and the time of our last descent being a bit too late for the day’s conditions; I must say I was still a bit surprised at the amount of debris triggered by my first ski cut. Overall, I feel we managed the hazard well but also felt that exiting the tour via a lower angle and shadier slope would have been a better decision. The snowpack in this zone needs exposure to more melt freeze cycles before the surface grains transition to corn. Intentionally triggered size D1 wet loose avalanches with ski cuts.

Weather

Air Temp
Above Freezing
Cloud Cover
few

Avalanche

Size
D1 R1
Type
WL
Aspect
SE
Trigger
AS
Elevation
9200 ft

WL-ASc-D1-R1-S