Observation: NWAC Forecaster

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Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
March 6, 2023
Submitted:
March 6, 2023
Observer:
NWAC Forecaster - Irene Henninger
Zone or Region:
West Central
Location:
Deer Creek (2000-6000ft, all aspects)

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced

Media/Attachments

Very large cornices on a near treeline ridge, 4800ft, north-facing.
Small natural loose dry sluffs on steep, north facing terrain, which likely ran in the last 24-48 hours.
An east-facing cornice on a ridgeline at 4100ft near Bald Mtn in the West Central zone. Note the sneaky crown line as well.
A day-old skin track looked like new, not at all blown in.
The not-so-pleasant-to-ski surface crust on the southerly half.
South side of Mtn Loop Hwy.
South side of Mtn Loop Hwy.
Surface hoad and near surface faceting sneakily coating the surface crust in the 3/6 south-facing pit on the Mtn Loop Hwy.
A layer of graupel buried 42cm deep in the north-facing pit on the Mtn Loop Hwy. It was inconsistent enough that no pit test results occurred on the layer.
Same location, 3100' then and now.

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Partly Cloudy
Temperature:
30°F
Wind:
Calm

Clear morning skies transitioned to overcast by midday. The cloud ceiling was around 6000ft, and very light flurries began around 1pm. It was just below freezing at 5000ft, but 35 degrees at 2000ft around midday.

Snowpack Observations

A consistently thin crusty surface up to about 2500ft changed to an aspect-dependent crust, where a 1-5cm crust was present on the southern half of the compass. Skiing was pretty bad. A slight shift to the northern half left me with right-side-up powder, and about 20cm of ski penetration.

Above 4000ft old signs of wind drifting were present, although there doesn't appear to have been new wind transport where I traveled in the last 24+hrs. Cornices were multi-layered and huge, however, and I stayed far away from them.

I saw 24-48 hour old small dry loose avalanches which ran from very steep spots, and a few natural D2 slab avalanches were visible on surrounding mountains, which likely ran during the last storm.

I didn't get any results from pit tests on my north-facing pit, or in several hand pits, and didn't find any other instabilities like shooting cracks. I descended via north-facing terrain with good skiing and only minor sluffing.

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