Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Jeff MetskyObservation Date:
December 27, 2022Submitted:
December 27, 2022Zone or Region:
East NorthActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Delancy RidgeSigns of Unstable Snow
Did you see shooting cracks?
Yes, IsolatedDid you experience collapsing or whumpfing?
Yes, IsolatedObservations
We toured up Delancy Ridge which was slow going given the heavy, wet recent (I-guess-you-could-call-it) snowfall. The December 26th rain crust was thick and noticeable on the sled ride in and early on in our ascent. Precipitation was light to moderate throughout the day starting off opaque and shifting to a more translucent variety later in the afternoon.
We avoided steep terrain intentionally, given the wet/storm slab problem we were expecting.
We dug a pit around 4800’ on a SE aspect and found the snow depth to be between 114-120cm. We got mixed results on several column tests (ranging from very easy to moderate) on both the 12/26 rain crust and the early December sun crust. We performed a PST above the early December sun crust, out of curiosity, and our results: PST 95/100 (End) with a low propensity for propagation.
The skiing/riding down was better than anticipated as the new snow made our boards just a bit out of reach of the breakable crust’s bite.
Visibility was limited for most of the day due to low hanging clouds and precipitation. This - and the fact that my partner forgot her spectacles - made it hard to observe any avalanches up or down valley.
Advanced Observations
Observed Avalanche Problem #1:
Wet SlabComments:
We primarily avoided steep terrain, given our concerns about the interface between the new snow and the Boxing Day rain crust.We found the wet slab sensitivity to trigger to be reactive and isolated on specific terrain features, specifically, steep, convex rollovers.
On our snowmobile exit, we observed quite a few tree-bomb triggered natural wet slabs (and wet loose) along the road cut.