Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 30 m
- Trigger Type
- Natural
- Vertical Fall
- 381 m
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 61 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2195 m
Skinning up the West Porter corner pocket way too early this morning, I saw the start of the slide that filled the gully (reported by Ben earlier this week). Crown was maybe 2' deep, and that slide ran...and ran...and ran down the gully's funnel. I lapped that and skinned back up and headed over toward South Thaynes ("Bartacus"). In that bowl just east of West Porter saddle (we call it Thermal Bowl, given the area of rocks that seemingly stay toasty all winter long and shed snow), wide swaths had slid, though not deep (more a sluff than a slide - perhaps a foot deep in places).
Reaching the saddle of Neffs Headwall, I noted that everything on the leeward (west) side of the ridge was slabbing up, given the east wind, and would break a foot deep. But that was localized to the ridge. Nothing was slabbing or sliding as I moved farther away from the ridge, skinning up toward the start of Gary's. In Gary's proper, everything had naturaled from the top and also off the west side of the line. Where Gary's bends north/left the debris stopped. The crowns (there were several) were 1-2' deep and ran a few hundred feet. But, again, the more northerly line was untouched by debris. (You can see the lumpy remnants of the avy debris in the attached picture.)
It seems that all of this went either early Friday or, more likely, Thursday (given that the debris is now covered in a foot or so of new snow from Friday). I observed no cracking or woomphing or other signs of instability today, beyond the vestiges of this past week's cycle of natural avalanches.
I post just as a reminder that while Porter has been relatively safe this season from the PWL, it still knows how to shed some snow weight when loaded up.