Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Matt LubarObservation Date:
January 30, 2021Submitted:
January 30, 2021Zone or Region:
West NorthActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Baker BC - Guido's GladesTriggered Avalanches
Did you trigger any avalanches?
YesWas it intentional?
NoAvalanche Type:
Soft SlabSize:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to peopleElevation:
5090'Aspect:
SWComments:
My partners and I had just begun our descent into Guido's Glades. Unsure if we were above the entrance that we wanted to take, I skied down about 15ft and stopped on a flat bench below a stand of trees and saw a crack shoot out from my skis across the open slope in front of me. I looked upslope to my right and and noticed another shooting crack running diagonally upslope from where I stood. This crack propagated about 50ft upslope and across the top of an adjacent 40+ degree slope, releasing a D1 soft slab avalanche (F hard) that broke about 8in deep at the old snow/new snow interface and roughly 40ft wide (SS-ASr-R4-D1-I). The avalanche ran down the slope about 60 ft and into a stand of trees.Photo:
Signs of Unstable Snow
Did you see shooting cracks?
Yes, IsolatedDid you experience collapsing or whumpfing?
NoObservations
After ascending to the top of the slope, we conducted a CT (CT3 SP down 22cm) and two ECTs (ECTP1 down 22cm X2) on the crown line. We observed a mix of rimed precipitation particles and 1-2mm graupel on the bed surface, and this thin layer was visible, though subtle, to the naked eye in our test columns. We also observed these grains at the old snow/new snow interface while traveling towards Artist Point.
Media
