Observation: Public

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Terrain: Parked near 1600ft on FSR-12. Patchy coverage on roads until 2200ft where continuous snow begins. Traveled in the Easton Glacier/Park Butte areas on all aspects as high as 7000ft.

Avalanche: Several small wet loose avalanches ran naturally on sun-exposed slopes - easterly aspects below 5500ft were most active. Witnessed a solar-triggered dry loose avalanche on the east face of Seward Peak that ran for over 1000ft off cliffs. Observed crowns of two natural wind slab avalanches (D2) high on the south face of Colfax Peak that looked to have run during the most recent storm Friday night. There were also a handful of small snowmobile-triggered wind slabs in the moraines around the Easton Glacier - primarily on north and east aspects.

Snowpack: 30-40cm (12-16in) of dry settled snow from recent storms (4/7-8 and 4/9-10) is generally well bonded to an underlying crust (4/7 interface). No concerning results in stability tests on an east aspect at 5600ft at the toe of the Easton Glacier (CTM ↓15 RP, CTM ↓30cm RP). Below the 4/7 interface, the snowpack is strong and consolidated with alternating layers of melt-freeze crusts and rounded grains. Above 4000ft, the height of snow is 4-5m or more.

Weather: Clear, sunny skies in the AM, increasing clouds in the PM. High temperatures near 32F at 4500ft. Light and variable winds.