Williams Creek

Quick report

Cracking

isolated

Relatively stable conditions on all aspects/elevations that I traveled. The touchiest areas were along ridgelines where wind slabs and cornices had developed. I didn't get any significant wind slab release but experienced some cornice reactivity highlighted above. The new snow appeared well bonded to the old snow surface. Experienced small cracking along ridgelines on the lee slopes.

Weather

Air Temp

28

Cloud Cover

broken

Wind Loading

moderate

Rain Elevation

7000

Recent Snowfall

20

Snow Avail For Transport

large amounts

Typical post-storm spring conditions. Occasional intense snowfall lasting 20-30 minutes followed by calm, clear conditions. It snowed maybe an inch at upper elevations while I was traveling. With wind transport, my tracks were filled in in ~4 hours.

Snowpack

New snow appeared well-bonded to the old snow surface. The new snow was right-side-up with less dense snow above the denser snow.

Avalanche

Size

D1 R1

Type

C

Aspect

E

Trigger

AS

Elevation

8300 ft

I went to asses how stubborn the cornices that developed during the storm were. This cornice was quite reactive and released in 1-2 stomps. It appeared to fail on the old snow/ new snow interface.