Quick report
- Cracking
- specific
We traveled from Paradise to Glacier Vista, and observed varied surface conditions. Some areas had been scoured down to the crust beneath, while others were loaded with stiff wind-deposited snow. Most surfaces had a hard, hollow-sounding wind board with an inch of graupel on top. Jumping aggressively on small test slopes, and areas above skin tracks produced some fracturing, creating hard, cohesive, stubborn wind slab blocks. Low mid-winter sun and a light breeze kept snow surfaces cold and dry throughout the day. In addition to the now lightly-buried evidence of the widespread natural avalanche on 12/10, we observed one small crown on the East facing cliff above in the Nisqually glacier in extremely steep terrain, and two adjacent avalanches on a SW aspect of the upper mountain which appeared to have relatively small start zones, but ran over 1000 ft.
Avalanche
-One new crown on extremely steep, E facing terrain -Two adjacent avalanches on a SW aspect of the upper mountain which appeared to have relatively small start zones, but ran over 1000 ft