Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
- I went for a tour this afternoon to get an idea of snow totals from today's quick-moving storm and to get a read on the wind slab potential.
- Temperatures were relatively warm this morning but dropped quickly as the storm rolled in, keeping the snow loose and unconsolidated, largely right side up.
- In areas with smaller amounts of storm snow, skinning proved to be a bit challenging with a "dust on crust" vibe. However, I never found myself wishing for ski crampons.
- Today's winds were largely moderate to strong, and they proved productive at transporting snow in exposed areas near and above treeline. As the storm cleared out around 3-3:30 this afternoon the winds continued to transport snow along the ridge.
Signs of Instability:
- I managed to trigger a couple of Loose Dry avalanches today on small, steep test slopes in the loose and unconsolidated storm snow near and below treeline.
- Shooting cracks were easy to initiate in wind-loaded terrain.
- I saw two natural avalanches and intentionally triggered several windslab avalanches along the Sherwin ridge. Crown depths ranged from about 8"-2' deep. The largest avalanche I triggered along the ridge initiated from approximately 5' away and propagated about 30 meters wide.
Weather
- Air Temp
- 23
- Cloud Cover
- overcast
- Wind Loading
- moderate
- Recent Snowfall
- 15-25
- Snow Avail For Transport
- moderate amounts
Snow started in the Mammoth Area with flurries around 9:00 am, with rates increasing after 10:00 AM. Peak snowfall impacted the area from 10:00-15:00, with periods of snowfall over 1" per hour. Storm totals approx 15 cm-25 cm depending on elevation. Wind speeds dropped throughout the storm from mostly strong speeds to more modeate speeds during my tour.
Avalanche
- Size
- D1
- Type
- L
- Count
- 3
- Aspect
- NE
- Trigger
- AS
- Elevation
- 9000 ft
Small loose dry avalanche triggered on steep test slope below treeline.