Northwest Avalanche Center - Public Observation

Name:

Daniel MacDonald

Observation Date:

April 17, 2022

Submitted:

April 18, 2022

Zone or Region:

Mt Hood

Activity:

Skiing/Snowboarding

Location:

Hogsback & Coalman Glacier

Comments:

D0.5. Wind Slab. Coalman Glacier just above Hot Rocks. Saw the spider web occur, but small and not steep enough to slide more than a foot or two. Submitting bc of the odd aspect, the interesting ripples on approach (that I avoided intentionally, see pics) and the thoughts on what that could mean for caution with Old Chute (which I was close to directly under at the time) and maybe Pearly Gates after similar weather.

None reported

Late morning ski tour from Timberline to 10800 on Hogsback to Zigzags via Coalman Glacier above Hot Rocks. Colder day than expected despite decent sun. Seemed to keep loose wet and rock/rimefall at bay. Noticed nothing beyond crazy deep snow [kept crampon-less skis on to DK and all the way to Hogsback] approaching or within crater environs. Winds increased later in the day as illustrated by Ascent (1315) & Descent (1645) Illumination Rock pics. Upper elevation whiteout occurred around 4pm (as I texted a friend to let them know I decided further ascent unreasonable w approaching storm system and possibly unsafe avy-wise…haha serves me right for wasting time texting). To descend had to slowly contour NW toward headwall til I saw Hot Rocks below me. As I descended, I noticed ripples in the snow below me so skied left around them (pic from above). Near flatter area saw small spider web in snow ahead of me that released, but quickly stopped presumably due to low slope angle (pic from below). Became even more cautious after that, skiing adjacent to low angle Hot Rocks while keeping an eye out for moats (?) in the snow. Whiteout lifted and Zigzags were a quite pleasant ski, if a bit heavy that late in the day.