Quick report
Deepest day I’ve experienced in the Swan. Off the sleds we sank beyond waist deep. Epic struggles to move between stuck sleds. Travel became much easier after noon as the fresh snow began to consolidate and become more supportive. Interestingly, skiers’ skin tracks appeared to be fairly shallow, especially compared to wallowing in boot packs between snow machines.
Snowpack
Massive quantities of mid density fresh snow, right side up and no evidence of wind effect.
Avalanche
- Size
- D2
- Type
- SS
- Aspect
- SW
- Elevation
- 6900 ft
Snowed over debris was evident near the top of the Crown/Noisy Basin drainage, which would have originated on a steep SW slope just north of the Jewel Basin Notch. Approximately 6” of powder covered the debris, which ran well into the forest below the face. Snow depth indicates the avalanche occurred sometime the afternoon of 12/30 mid storm.