Observation: NWAC Forecaster

All Observations

Basic Information

Observation Date:

April 2, 2022

Submitted:

April 2, 2022

Observer:

NWAC Forecaster - Irene Henninger

Zone or Region:

West North

Location:

Heather Meadows (All aspects, 4000-5500+)

Recent Avalanches?

Yes

Cracking?

None Experienced

Collapsing?

None Experienced

We found 4-6 inches of heavy powder over the crust in the Baker backcountry from 4000-5500ft. On steep southerly slopes it moistened during brief sun breaks midday.

Rollerballs quickly ran in the moist snow as soon as the sun shone on south-facing slopes.

Small loose dry avalanches which ran in the new snow that fell overnight. The right-most slide was a small wet loose avalanche which occurred as we were standing there, as sun had just hit the slope.

A small (D1) slab avalanche on a north-facing slope in Bagley Basin, failing just beneath a cornice.

Advanced Information

Cloud Cover:

Mostly Cloudy

Temperature:

35°F

Wind:

Light

New/Recent Snowfall:

4 inches

4-6" of heavy powder sat over crust. Light snow fell until 1100hrs. Skiers were mainly overcast/obscured, however patches of sun surprised us from about 1100 onwards. Light-mod winter were mainly only noticeable at Herman Saddle.

Avalanche Observation Comments:

With the sun breaks the snow surface rapidly became moist on south-facing slopes. Rollerballs ran from steep, rocky areas. I didn't encounter any natural wet loose avalanches, however, we were able to trigger them with turns or ski cuts on all steep southerly slopes, running ~4" deep on the crust, small in size (D1).

4-6" of heavy powder was present over a crust on all aspects and elevations that we traveled. We found drifts 1-1.5 ft deep at 5000+ feet in isolated areas. We found that the new snow was generally well bonded to the crust, especially at elevations below 5000ft. Midday sun breaks caused rapid moistening and consolidating of the snow above the crust on south-facing slopes.

Problem	Location	Distribution	Sensitivity	Size	Comments
Wet Loose	N E S W	Isolated Specific Widespread	Unreactive Stubborn Reactive Touchy	D1 D1.5 D2 D2.5 D3 D3.5 D4 D4.5 D5	Layer Depth/Date: 4" / 3-31

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