Observation: NWAC Forecaster

All Observations

Basic Information

Observation Date:

March 4, 2023

Submitted:

March 4, 2023

Observer:

NWAC Forecaster - Joe Dellaporta

Zone or Region:

Mt Hood

Location:

Elk Mountain

Recent Avalanches?

None Observed

Cracking?

Isolated

Collapsing?

None Experienced

Advanced Information

Cloud Cover:

Obscured

Temperature:

Below freezing°F

Wind:

Moderate , W

New/Recent Snowfall:

HN: 5in

Actively snowing all day (S1) with some moderate wind speeds observed near ridgetop.

Today my partner and I traveled into the Elk Mtn area with the objective of locating surface hoar buried on 3/2. Fortunately, after seeing many aspects/elevations we unsuccessfully located surface hoar in this area. However, the 3/2 interface still provided planar results with tilt tests and compression tests. No propagation was observed with ECT's. As of now this 3/2 layer sits about 10 inches below the snow surface and is capped with a supportable, thin melt freeze crust from a spike in freezing levels at the start of the storm a couple days ago.

The main story was wind-drifted snow near ridgetop. In these areas we found reactive pockets of wind drifted snow that we easily triggered on test slopes. These slabs were generally shallow, 6-12 inches deep. Sharp, fresh cornices along the ridgeline kept us off of the steeper slopes below.

We made big gains this past week with snowpack depths. On average, I was observing 80 cm (31 inches) of new snow sitting on the 2/21 freezing rain crust. HS ranged from 240-280 cm above 5000 ft. Overall, we found a favorable upper snowpack structure and good ski quality.

Problem	Location	Distribution	Sensitivity	Size	Comments
Wind Slab	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: 6-12 inches Comments: Triggered shallow wind slabs on test slopes. Easy to see shooting crack in these spots. Cornices are fresh and sensitive.