Northwest Avalanche Center

Observation: Public

All Observations

Observation Details

Name:
Nick
Observation Date:
January 14, 2023
Submitted:
January 14, 2023
Zone or Region:
West South
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
East/platinum peak

Observed Avalanches

Did you observe any avalanches? 
Yes
Avalanche Type:
Wet Slab
Size:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to people
Elevation:
6000 feet
Aspect:
Comments:
Wide spread old wet loose and wet slab activity on all visible aspect steep enough to slide.

Signs of Unstable Snow

None reported

Observations

Overall stability was much better than expected today. Biggest hazard was the breakable crust trying to destroy your knees. Dug a pit at 5800ft above the lake in bullion basin. We were able to see the 1/4 and Christmas crusts, but got no results on either. Even after an ECT, we could not pry either layer off with shovel pull tests. The top 4-6" are upside down with a 3/4 inch crust over some lower density snow, but without a load, it just skis poorly.

Winds were quite strong and transporting what little snow there was. Had there been more snow to transport, fresh wind slabs would have been a problem.

WSW face had a more supportable crust than the back side.

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