Quick report
- Cracking
- widespread
- Collapsing
- widespread
The collapsing I heard resembled a muffled cannon, with a snap so loud that it could have reasonably been heard from close to .5mi away if anyone was around. This was one of the loudest collapses I have experienced in my time walking through snow. I intentionally triggered several storm slabs; see below for more info.
Weather
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- light
- Rain Elevation
- Precip fell as snow in all areas I travelled
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Skies were overcast throughout the day, with light intermittent snowfall persisting into the afternoon. Winds were light at ridgeline with moderate gusts.
Snowpack
On an off duty ski tour, I observed the storm snow coming in a bit warmer and wetter than forecasted. This led to slab formation in the top 30-40cm of snow. Seeing this, I was able to intentionally trigger 3 small (D1) storm slab avalanches (see avalanche section). With an HS of 150, and HST 43, stability tests pointed towards the possibility of the persistent slab problem still being triggered with likely severe consequences (ECTP28↓ 80). The slab was settling with the warm temperatures and added loading, making firmness increase from F in the newest snow down to 1F at the base of the slab.
Avalanche
Triggered 3 small (D1) storm slab avalanches in sheltered, treed terrain. All of these ran into terrain traps such a small, confined gullies that are characteristic for this zone at mid-elevation. While small, each of these could have buried a person when running into these features.