Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Alex ZimmermanObservation Date:
December 11, 2022Submitted:
December 12, 2022Zone or Region:
Mt HoodActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Lower White RiverObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Wet LooseSize:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to peopleElevation:
4800Aspect:
EComments:
6-8” crown depth and 75’ wide, was just to the west of the white river drainage before going up onto the bench. Didn’t appear to be human triggered, likely due to heavy snow from the tail end of this storm. In flat terrain next to the slide there was a firm crust approximately 2” down, however on the E aspect where the avalanche was it could have been wind loaded and not bonded to the same crust.Signs of Unstable Snow
Observations
After seeing the small avalanche at the bottom of the drainage (just above the parking lot) we decided to continue into the trees with extreme caution. As we approached the small bowl on the west side of the confluence approximately one mile above the parking lot, we dug a test pit on the wind loaded E aspect at 5000’. Approximately 135cm deep took us to bushes, but not to the ground. On our isolated column test we were able to make the top 3-4” crack with CTE4 but did not produce any more fractures in the the column through the rest of the test. After we poked around in the pit some more we put a ski on top and just the weight of the ski created the same 3-4” crack.
All of that said, the S facing aspect adjacent to our pit had been skied by about 10-12 skiers and snowboarders and there were no signs of prolongation or avalanches from their turns. That aspect is approximately 30° and faces SSE at about 5100’. Attached one photo of the end of our destroyed pit with the ski on top.
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