Quick report
The day started with winterlike conditions: cold, dry snow and touchy storm slabs observed on N/NW aspects. Avalanche control work at the resort produced multiple D0.5/1 avalanches on steep unsupported slopes. A small slab (~1ft deep, 30ft wide) was produced on a similar test slope. No signs of instability were observed on E aspects before warming. Intermittent sun breaks and cloud cover contributed to a rapid warming of the snowpack on all aspects. I presume some greenhousing was occurring. By 11am, wet avalanches were easily triggered on steep E aspects. By 12am, natural wet avalanches were widespread on E and N aspects, running surprisingly far and large. Of note, a large glide crack was opening up at the exit of the mt Herman east gully.
Avalanche
- Size
- D3
- Aspect
- N
- Elevation
- 4400 ft
A presumably natural D3 wet avalanche on a N aspect, that ran nearly to bagley lake and stopped about 25' from a skin track in the valley. It produced a loud noise which, combined with low visibility, was quite startling. The trigger is unknown, but likely natural as smaller wet point releases were visible during a sun break on a similar aspect ~30 minutes before. No crown was visible from the valley. There is bare rock high in the avalanche path, so glide activity could be involved.