Observation: Public

Name:

Travis W

Observation Date:

January 20, 2023

Submitted:

January 20, 2023

Zone or Region:

Stevens Pass

Activity:

Skiing/Snowboarding

Location:

Lichtenberg

Did you observe any avalanches?

Yes

Avalanche Type:

Soft Slab

Size:

Size 1: Relatively harmless to people

Elevation:

5700'

Aspect:

Comments:

It appeared to be a splitboarder triggered slab just below ridgeline on the SW Face. It looks like it ran on the most recent crust and had some cross loading from wind transport.

None reported

We went up the southwest face of Lichtenberg to the ridge. We noticed the avalanche while approaching. With some other signs of wind transport, we were avoiding areas that were cross loaded. After skiing that face, we went over to Lake Valhalla. There we noticed 2-3mm surface hoar at 5100' N aspect. We also dug down a little and noticed that the new snow did not bond well to the most recent crust layer with sudden planar result in compression tests.

Avalanche near the ridge on the SW Face.