Quick report
- Red Flags
- Recent Avalanches
- Red Flags Comment
- <p>Numerous avalanches were reported Wednesday, overnight into Thursday, and during the day today. Recent avalanches are the reddest of the red flags!</p>
Travel today was USA Bowl along the PC ridgeline and down the lower-angled "West Monitor Sneak". Cold temperatures have locked up low-elevation snow which was saturated from Wednesday's rain. Outside of wind-afffected terrain, the danger is moving to Moderate, but there has been enough avalanche activity in wind-drifted terrain to keep that at Considerable.
Photo of likely natural avalanche in South Monitor.
Snowpack
- Instability Comment
- <p>Over the past 36 hours, winds on Hidden Peak at 11,000'</p> <p> </p> <p>3/15 0600 (6 am) S (gusting to 60 mph)</p> <p>3/15 1200 (noon) W/NW (gusting upper 30's mph)</p> <p>3/16 0200 (2 am) N (gusting to upper 20's mph)</p> <p>3/16 1300 (1 pm) NE (gusting to 30 mph)</p> <p> </p> <p>This period of sustained moderate to strong winds <em>from every cardinal direction</em> has left widespread wind-drifted snow at the mid and upper elevations. </p> <p> </p> <p>One pit today on a West aspect at 9,600' had a 15 cm 1F-hard wind slab where the extended column failed upon isolation (ECTPV), failing on softer snow underneath the wind drift. We also saw evidence of what appears to be a natural avalanche from a cornice fall in South Monitor (photo below). Given the widespread natural avalanche cycle on Wednesday and overnight into Thursday morning as well as skier-triggered avalanches on Thursday are plenty of evidence these recent wind drifts are still sensitive and will need more time to stabilize.</p>
~30 cms of settled storm snow outside of wind-affected terrain. Plenty of wind-affected snow on all aspects above 9,000'. Some solar aspects were damp when we were exiting at 2 pm and will be crusted on Friday morning.