Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
ScottyObservation Date:
January 29, 2021Submitted:
January 29, 2021Zone or Region:
West NorthActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Mazama bowlTriggered Avalanches
Did you trigger any avalanches?
YesWas it intentional?
YesAvalanche Type:
Hard SlabSize:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a personElevation:
5,600 ftAspect:
NComments:
Our party of 3 were descending the ridge line from Mazama dome to the main saddle on mazama bowl, to ride the north facing terrain down to the lake. We stopped along the ridge line adjacent to several cornices to scope a steeper entrance into the bowl, just uphill from the main saddle/low spot on the ridge. We stomped on the edge of the ridge just upslope of the cornices and triggered a wind slab on the steep, convex, north facing slope at 5600 ft. The slab propagated about ten feet upslope to our left with a crown depth of 2+ ft and propogated a considerable distance downslope to the right, roughly 40 feet or so. The slab ran on a slick crust bed surface from the period of high pressure and tan all the way down to the lake at 5,000 ft.Photo:
Observed Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Hard SlabSize:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a personElevation:
5600 ftAspect:
NComments:
Photo:
Signs of Unstable Snow
Did you see shooting cracks?
Yes, IsolatedDid you experience collapsing or whumpfing?
NoObservations
Observed numerous shooting cracks on Wednesday 1/27 while touring around Herman saddle/iceberg lake area. Returned today 1/29 and did one run from Herman saddle area down to Hayes Lake, sticking to lower angle sheltered terrain. Observed some shooting cracks but much more isolated than on Wednesday. Then skinned up toward the summit of mazama dome and descended down the ridge line toward the main saddle. While descending the ridge line we stomped on the edge of the ridge to check the stability on the steeper entrance into the bowl. This triggered a wind slab 2+ft deep which propogated a considerable distance downslope below the cornices ridge. The slide ran down to the lake basin 600 feet below.
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