Observation: Public

Observation Details

Observed Avalanches

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

Weather- Clear skies. Moderate east wind w light to moderate blowing snow in the AM, tapering in the PM. High of 3C at 5,000ft.

Snowpack- Above 5,000ft, dry snow on shaded and northerly slopes w surface crusts on other slopes,15cm thick and pencil+ hard. At lower elevations, crusts were thinner and less frozen. Mid to upper elevations hold dry snow under the surface from storms of the 7th and 9th. At 5,700ft on a south aspect, I found the 4/7 interface down 31cm with 31-58cm of knife hard crust. This rested on a thick layer of moist, 4-finger hard melt-forms.

Steep south aspects above 5,000ft were softening around 11:00 and were still holding enough cohesion to make it difficult to trigger avalanches at 13:00. West aspects had not yet softened at 12:00. Even at 13:30, we found no unsupportive snow down to 3,600ft.

The destruction from the late February avalanche cycles can still be observed. Massive debris piles cover the run-outs below the SW face of Lichtenberg. One previously undocumented path originates at the buttress on the NW shoulder of Lichtenberg Mtn and runs below Lake Valhalla. We note many broken trees and that the trim line had been widened.