Observation: Public

Observation Details

Triggered Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Steep undisturbed snowpack hid potential instabilities throughout the day up high, so I tried to limit our exposure to ridge lines <35° and when not possible, picked "safe" areas around trees or areas without bad runout.

Observed wind scoured hard slabs up west faces of Thompson Point and some minor storm slabs with isolated breaks, but the majority of snowpack was relatively stable seeming on angles <35°. The one area that required additional care was well in excess of 35° along the ridge line to Revolution Peak, as the path was near a small col and had poor runout with limited chances to recover via self-arrests with ice axes; there was nothing to catch on with our axes as it was almost all deep loose powder once I broke through the 1/16" hard crust along the ridge line.

Crampons were pretty useless along the traverse. Microspikes were pretty useless. Snowshoes would have been way too dicey due to poor footing, poor runout, and the narrow path that would have been taken. A brave soul might have been able to cross on skis.

Purchase with snowshoes was low in the morning along the ridge in Thompson Point and higher in the afternoon as the temps warmed up and we descended down the hill.

Tons of rollerballs and some pinwheels on the descent isolated to disturbed sections of the snowpack (R1/D1), but it felt secure enough that we could glissade down in 2 sections.