Quick report

Northern Wallowas Obs Compilation

Caleb MerrillNorthern Wallowas
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Quick report

The following are some observations texted to me from the weekend from backcountry travelers in the Northern Wallowas at Wing Ridge, Big Sheep, and McCully Basin.  

1.) From 2/1: "Felt like more snow than I expected.  Some small windslabs on ridgetops (3-4" at most).  Not much natural activity and everything felt pretty consolidated.  At times, we were breaking trail through a foot of wind sifted snow from ridgetops." 

2.) From 2/2 (Big Sheep):  "Light snow most of the day but picked up in intensity in the afternoon.  Dug a pit at 7900' N: Total Snow Depth 190cm.  Storm Snow: 35cm.  Test results: CT11 Sudden Collapse 35 cm down on old/new interface.  ECTX.  No naturals or debris visible. " 

3.) From 2/2 (Wing Ridge): "Light winds, temps in the mid-20's.  Started snowing around 10:30 or so.  Light at first, but 1-2" on the truck by the time I left.  I saw no naturals and think that localized wind slabs are the main issue right now."  

4.) From departing yurt goers in McCully (2/2): "Did not see any evidence of avalanche activity anywhere in the terrain we skied or could put eyes on.  We probably got 6" of new snow across a couple days.  We played around in the lowland and had a great time. "