| Trigger | Natural | Remote Trigger | No |
| Avalanche Type | Hard Slab | Aspect | East |
| Elevation | 3600ft | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | unknown | Width | 600ft |
| Vertical Run | 2000ft |
Avalanche: Summit
Location: Fresno Ridge
Toured up SE shoulder of Fresno Ridge. Observed active wind loading from strong N winds and noticed two large crowns at 1:30pm on an East aspect of Fresno Ridge. Unsure of when they occurred, but didn’t notice them while driving, but are in an area that is challenging to see from the road.
Also observed a recent glide avalanche on a South aspect of Wilsons, across the valley from Fresno.
Avalanche Details
Wind triggered D2 and a D3 avalanche on Fresno Ridge, based on the size of the debris and how far it ran.
Also a natural glide avalanche on a South aspect of Wilson's
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Observer Comments
Two large avalanches on Fresno East aspect - Debris from one the avalanche's ran surprisingly far to ~1500'.
Glide avalanche on S aspect of Wilson's
Active wind loading
Weather
Clear skies
Strong North ridgetop winds
Temps in the teens to low 20Fs, but felt warmer due to the sun's radiation.
Snow surface
2cm of new snow on crust at lower elevations (protected from wind)
Above 1600' - sastrugi, breakable wind crust, and pockets of 5-10cm of loose snow.
3-5cm sun crust on South aspect of steep gully - winds were keeping the surface dry at 3pm.
Snowpack
Dug a pit in a protected meadow on Fresno
~2500', East aspect, 30* slope, HS=120cm
CT15 failed 80cm below the surface on 2-3mm facets, ECTX
CT3 on 6mm BSH down 25cm below the surface
Overall poor structure, 4 lemons on the January facet layer, boot pen= waist deep in protected meadow
Notice what looked like fresh debris and two recent crowns on East facing aspects of Fresno at around 1:30pm.
Recent glide avalanche on South aspect of Wilson's - we noticed it around 2pm
North winds were funneling up the valley throughout the day
Pit info
surface conditions on skin track up East aspect of SE shoulder of Fresno
View of the Fresno avalanches from the gravel pit
Close up of the crowns from the road - unfortunately you can't see the debris from the road level very well.
Active wind loading on Tincan, but winds were blowing from the South and loading North aspects at noon when we drove through.
Also noticed what looked like a recent avalanche on the far Southern end of Seattle Ridge (SE aspect) at around 4:30pm.