Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

As we made our trek in we saw wet-loose slides at two different cliff areas (one pictured). Around 4800' the snow transitioned from firm/icy pack to light powder. We traversed back using the Big Trees route. The initial drop into Big Trees at the bottom of the cliffs, there was avalanche debris that was very firm to the touch. It was kind of hidden by what appeared to be sluff from other tourists. As we navigated through the trees, there were very obvious tree-wells that went 10ft deep. The final stretch back to the cat-track out was firm and icy, however, very manageable.

The weather at the beginning of the day started as overcast, turned to sunny conditions by noon, and then overcast again starting around 2pm. Overall, the terrain traps (i.e. pits, tree wells) posed as the major challenge for the day. Happy New Year everyone.