Observation: Avalanche Professional

All Observations

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
February 17, 2022
Submitted:
February 17, 2022
Observer:
Avalanche Professional - NPS Rainier Rangers
Zone or Region:
West South
Location:
WA Cascades along road to Paradise (East to S to West, 5400')

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced

Media/Attachments

Low clouds and natural roller balls on the Washington Cascades section of the road to Paradise
~5-6" of new snow around Paradise, 1-2" MFcr on surface sliding easily on ~4" of softer snow, all on top of January's firm base.

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Obscured
Temperature:
29°F
Wind:
Calm

Low clouds/fog and temps near and just below freezing around Paradise. The surface snow has a generally damp feel to it.

Snowpack Observations

~5400'. There was a pencil hard MFcr generally 1-2" thick, though absent in some flat spots, sitting on 4-5" of 4F recent storm snow, and all on top of the hard dry spell base. Hand pit shear had the MFcr breaking with modest effort, but sliding planar and easy on the soft snow below. The interface between the firm base and recent storm snow was resistive and damp/wet. Boot pen was 6", just the recent snow.

WordPress Lightbox