Avalanche
View on mapCentral Swan
Rob Millspaugh
Quick report
- Cracking
- widespread
- Collapsing
- isolated
Into the Swan to check on the storm:
- Roughly 12 inches of new snow above 5500', 4 to 8 inches below this elevation.
- Found snowmobile sized drifts and enlarged cornice.
- Widespread cracking was mostly in the top 4 to 6 inches and withing 3 feet of my skis.
- Whumpf on a NE ridge at 8000'.
- Got repeat propagating results in the top 2 feet of the snowpack on slope adjacent to whumpf.
- Did not get on steep slopes but my sled was pushing an impressive sluff around even on flats.
I avoided travel on and under slopes of 30* or more.
Cracking in top 4 to 6 inches in sheltered terrain. Cracking in top 12 inches on wind-affected slopes. All cracking was within 3 feet of skis. One collapse on NE ridge at 8000'.Weather
- Cloud Cover
- broken
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 30
- Snow Avail For Transport
- large amounts
Snowed on and off with only 1 inch of accumulation on the sled track. Intermittend moderate winds but only light blowing snow. Brief and weak breaks of sun.
Snowpack
@ 8000', NE
- HS = 250 cm
- ECTP13 x 2 down 40 cm on DF and Graupel
- ECTN29 x 2 down 80 cm
@ 8000', SE
- HS = 155 cm
- ECTN15 down 35 cm
- ECTN25 down 55 cm
- ECTN27 down 65 cm
Avalanche
Could not trigger avalanches on test slopes. Could not see obvious avalanches in bigger terrain, but visibility was poor.