Quick report
We found a generally shallow but supportable snowpack filled with stout crusts on sunny aspects and some soft snow lingering on steep, shaded slopes. Steep NW-N-NE-E slopes have a very poor snowpack structure with a slab over weak facets near the ground. The last large, natural slab avalanche here appears to have failed in early-February.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 4-8? since 3/5
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
Mild and mostly sunny. A stiff moderate wind blew from the E and NE. Snow plumes were visible in the adjacent high peaks. Local snowfall was minimal but I did find isolated, drifts. Alpine snow amounts were a little greater with some new visible drifts.
Snowpack
Access is still good from Copper Ck TH. Steep S and SW have bare spots, especially where scoured. On those slopes the remaining snowpack is welded to the ground. Wrapping onto shadier slopes trends from bulletproof to breakable and dappled near surface facets on steep N and NE.
Slab thickness above 1/31 on shaded slopes was about 40-60 cm. The structure on these slopes is still very poor with a F->1F slab above F facets. Large, early to mid-February slab avalanche activity in this area was observed on WNW-N-NW facing terrain.
There was some older wet loose activity in the southern Pioneer alpine and a little on some low elevation slopes above the Little Wood, but overall very little to speak of. The 3/5-3/6 disturbance left dust on crust at middle elevations, but some fresh drifting and active blowing snow was observed in the alpine.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Aspect
- W
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 9400 ft
Significant amount of debris from a broad start zone funneled into the drainage bottom and ran a good distance. Date is estimated. The crown was much more muted than others nearby.