Observation: Public

Name:

Andy Goodwin

Observation Date:

May 14, 2022

Submitted:

May 16, 2022

Zone or Region:

West South

Activity:

Walking/Hiking

Location:

Mt St Helens Worm Flows Route

Did you observe any avalanches?

Yes

Avalanche Type:

Wet Loose

Size:

Size 1: Relatively harmless to people

Elevation:

5700

Aspect:

E

Comments:

Heavy rain Friday night and Saturday morning led to cornice failures on some E and SE aspects around 5700'.

None reported

Heavy rain with temps in the 30's, winds 20-30 MPH, and dense fog above 5700' prevented any climbers from visiting altitudes above 5700'. The snow below 5700' was soft and rain saturated and boots easy sank 6-12" on untracked snow. With the winds and heavy precip, the best guess was that there was a lot of new snow on the higher parts of the mountain, but conditions there were too hazardous.

Loose wet avalanches triggered by cornice failures. This pic was taken in a brief late day sun window but the day was characterized by dense fog and heavy rain at this altitude.