Northwest Avalanche Center

Observation: Public

All Observations

Observation Details

Name:
Eliot Pearce
Observation Date:
January 8, 2023
Submitted:
January 9, 2023
Zone or Region:
West North
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
South Side of Bagley Basin

Triggered Avalanches

Did you trigger any avalanches? 
Yes
Was it intentional? 
No
Avalanche Type:
Soft Slab
Size:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to people
Elevation:
Near tree line
Aspect:
N
Comments:
A member of our party kicked off a small D1 avalanche on the South side of the Bagley basin. It was triggered on a convex roller near the ridge. The avalanche was approximately 20ft wide and ran 15 ft down. The crown was approximately 3" in height.

Signs of Unstable Snow

None reported

Observations

Toured up to the top of the south side of the Bagley Basin and dropped into a run close to table mountain. Toured back up and skied another lap closer to the resort in the trees. Weather: Heavy snowfall, moderate to low visibility. Light wind in the morning picking up to 20mph gusts in the afternoon. Snow surface: 3" of new, wet and heavy snow; more in some places because of wind transportation. Dug a pit below a patch of trees approximately 200' below the cat track. Results were ECTN 24 on a layer 3" down. Also did a shovel tap test and noticed moderate reactivity with the wind-transported snow.

Media

Evidence of wind transporting snow and creating wind lips.
ECTN 24. Broke in a jagged formation rather than a smooth slab which may be evidence of bonding with the layer below because of how wet the new snow was.
Evidence of wind transporting snow and creating wind lips.
Snow Hardness Profile

Advanced Observations

Observed Avalanche Problem #1: 
Wind Slab
Comments: 
South side of Bagley lakes, likely to be triggered in that isolated area of wind loading towards the ridge. 3" of wind transported snow.
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