Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Joe DellaportaObservation Date:
January 24, 2021Submitted:
January 24, 2021Zone or Region:
East CentralActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
ChiwaukumsObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Wet SlabSize:
Size 3: Could bury and destroy a car, damage a truck, destroy a wood frame house, or break a few treesElevation:
5000Aspect:
NComments:
Likely ran on Jan 11th-13th during the natural cycle. Visibility limited further details on it. It was very large!Photo:
Signs of Unstable Snow
Observations
Weather wise the day consisted of light snowfall, low visibility, and cold temperatures ( -9 degrees C @ 4100 ft) . Travel was challenging due to the dust on crust conditions, especially at higher elevations. Avalanche debris was prominent on any run out of steeper slopes, even at lower elevations.
Snowpack wise, I traveled mainly on north aspects and found that the surface crust ( 2 cm thick) is still prominent. I did find some near surface facets on this crust, but surprisingly also found some weak sugary snow just below this 2 cm thick crust. You can locate this weaker snow in quick hand pits. This crust will be worth tracking once we get more significant snowfall and a slab on top of it. I found this structure mainly above 4000 ft on North aspects.
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