Northwest Avalanche Center - Public Observation

Name:

Josh Hirshberg

Observation Date:

February 24, 2021

Submitted:

February 25, 2021

Zone or Region:

Stevens Pass

Activity:

Skiing/Snowboarding

Location:

Highway 2 corridor and Skyline area

Did you observe any avalanches?

Yes

Comments:

We got a look at the recent widespread avalanche cycle. Most avalanches ran on the 22nd (tho some on the 21st and 23rd) averaging D3 with many D2.5 and a few D3.5-4. The majority of these were on southeast through southwest between 5000-6000ft. Crown depths averaged 6-9ft. It's suspected that the January 24th facets (above the mid-January crust) was the most common weak layer. This was confirmed in a couple of slides. A few notables were:
A size D4 in Schillings Creek (known as the Gaynor path) on Rock Mtn that broke many trees and deposited debris, at least 30 ft deep near Hwy 2.
A size D3.5 in the Wellington path (SE, 5400ft) with a crown of close to 1500ft across.
A very wide crown in the White Pine Cirque (NE-NW, 6400ft)
Attached are photos and a table of some of the avalanches we observed

None reported

We were able to perform a crown profile on one of the many avalanches in the Moonlight area, north of Skyline Lake. At 5,250ft, SE the height of snow was 490cm with the weak layer of the Jan 24th facets (FCxr, 0.5-1.0mm) down 215cm . These facets are bigger, less rounded, and softer than on many low-angle or non-solar slopes. They were 1-finger to 4-finger plus in hardness and rested on a much stouter version of the mid-january crust than what we've seen on non-solar slopes.