Quick report
Today, I took full advantage of the sunny weather to see what post storm conditions were like on Mount Shasta. Multiple recent avalanches were observed, with the most recent occurring off the east aspect of Green Butte. This avalanche was investigated and has been recorded here. The three other avalanches observed had all been buried, indicating that they are at least 24 hours older and likely ran on January 20th. The snow conditions I experienced were mostly crust types: dust on crust, crust, and ice glaze. Soft snow exists, just not uniformly. The hot sun and above freezing temperatures began to warm and break down surfaces crusts below treeline, while surfaces near and above remained relatively stout.
Stability tests have discerned a weak snow layer 50-55 cm (23 inches) down from the surface. Some uncertainty remains on whether the interface is a thin crust or just a density change. Nevertheless, stability tests including, a CT and ECT. Both identified this layer to be reactive. No other signs of instabilities were observed.Weather
- Air Temp
- 33
- Cloud Cover
- few
- Wind Loading
- light
- Recent Snowfall
- 2
- Snow Avail For Transport
- small smounts
A blue bird sky shown above a white canvased mountain, with a sea of clouds resting in the valley bottoms. Temperatures near treeline peaked above freezing levels, and winds blew at light to moderate speeds out of the west and northwest. Sunny skies persisted throughout my travels.
Snowpack
The snowpack has greatly increased from the past storm and hardly any rocks or obstacles of concern were observed. Beneath the surface crust is over a foot of soft snow. This can be felt with a boot, ski, or track penetration.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2 R3
- Type
- SS
- Aspect
- E
- Trigger
- N
- Elevation
- 8800 ft
This avalanche likely occurred sometime on January 21st and failed on the old snow, new snow interface. The weak layer was soft/moister snow above older snow or a perhaps a thin crust. The bed surface was very difficult to identify.