Avalanche: Portage / Placer

Location: Headwall of Skookum Glacier

Date:

January 19, 2019 2:00pm

Observer:

Ryan Sackett

Route & General Observations

Snowmachined up Skookum glacier in search of good snow. No joy! Turned around at the bottom of the Skookum glacier headwall up track. Natural avalanche to the lookers left of the up track. Numerous natural slides observed in the same elevation band and higher.

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Natural	Remote Trigger	0
Avalanche Type	Hard Slab	Aspect	North Northeast
Elevation	2400ft	Slope Angle	30deg
Crown Depth	18in	Width	100ft
Vertical Run	50ft

Red Flags

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Obvious signs of instability

Recent Avalanches?	Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?	No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?	No

Observer Comments

Yes. Natural slides up and down on both sides of the Skookum glacier valley. All crowns in the mid to upper elevation bands.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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Weather

Clear and cold (high single digits-low teens). No new snow. Calm wind. Valley ice fog.

Snow surface

Melt-freeze crust up 2,350 ft. Highest elevation gained before turning around. Rain runnels seen into the mid elevation band.

Snowpack

Granular (sugar) snow beneath melt-freeze crust.

Photos & Video

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20190118_142300

Location

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