Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
Austen BeasonObservation Date:
December 17, 2021Submitted:
December 17, 2021Zone or Region:
West SouthActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Paradise, Mt RainierObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Soft SlabSize:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to peopleElevation:
~5800Aspect:
NWComments:
Observed old crown and slide debris coming off of Mazama Ridge, 2 separate slides. 1. Sluffing off steep cliffs, ~100 run below cliffs. 2. Crown/debris from soft slab, appeared to be surface layers from a distance.Signs of Unstable Snow
None reported
Observations
Variable pockets of wind affected snow, off ridge tops and gullies generally on the west to north aspects in the Paradise vicinity, south-east aspects seemed less altered and or scoured. A quick hand pit in some wind affect snow on a west aspect near Alta Vista showed a pencil hard slab up to ~6” thick, sitting on several feet of fist hard old storm snow-the slab layer slid easily on the underlying snow with hand shear. We did not observe any cracking. No formal pit or standardized tests were performed.
Media
