Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Robin PenderyObservation Date:
January 14, 2021Submitted:
January 14, 2021Zone or Region:
West SouthActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Crystal - Joes ShoulderObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Soft SlabSize:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a personElevation:
All elevations, all aspectsAspect:
Comments:
Widespread old wet loose debris and storm slabs (1-3.5 ft deep) observed on all aspects and elevationsSigns of Unstable Snow
Observations
Old avalanches and difficult travel conditions from the 1/12-1/13 atmospheric river were the name of the game today.
In sheltered terrain, 1-2 inches of weak snow sits on top of a 3-4 cm rain crust. The rain crust caps surprisingly dry snow. The crust is ski supportable, but not boot supportable in most locations.
On solar terrain, daytime warming was breaking down the surface crust. We left before any wet loose activity began.
We found widespread wet loose and slab debris from earlier in the week on all aspects and at all elevations. The debris piles ranged in size from around D1 up to D2.5, and crowns varied in depth from 6 inches up to 3.5 ft. The slabs seemed involve only storm snow from early on 1/12. It did not seem like any of the slabs stepped down to the NYE crust.
The combination of variable surface crust and old debris made for very difficult travel conditions. Ski crampons, and possibly boot crampons and an ice axe recommended!
Media
