Name:
Jeni Chan
Observation Date:
March 21, 2022
Submitted:
March 22, 2022
Zone or Region:
West North
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
Anderson Buttes/Watson Lakes
Did you trigger any avalanches?
Yes
Was it intentional?
Yes
Avalanche Type:
Wet Loose
Size:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a person
Elevation:
5000'
Aspect:
NW
Comments:
Skier triggered an intentional wet slide to test the slope before descending after finding finding no propagation in a test pit. We triggered the top 30 cm of snow which had a runout of 100-150 feet. Estimated slope angle was 30-35 degrees. Air temperature around 41 degrees. Snow was not wind-affected.
Did you observe any avalanches?
Yes
Avalanche Type:
Wet Loose
Size:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to people
Elevation:
6000'
Aspect:
S
Comments:
Point releases. Consistent tree-bombing throughout the day that, though harmless, were clear signs of a warming day.
None reported
Party of three dug a snow pit on a north-facing wide-open 35 degrees slope before descending. We found the first 15-30 cm reactive but with no propagation. Our travel up was mired with tree-bombing and point releases on all aspects. Our mutual decision was to carefully ski down, mindful of our sluff. First skier intentionally triggered a D2 wet slide with a runout of 100-150'. We saw evidence of recent wet loose activity in all chutes above the lake of similar magnitudes. Air temperature at noon was already 41 degrees and increases slightly throughout the day but we did not trigger any more slides after choosing mellower terrain.
The snow conditions were warm, wet, heavy, sticky.