| Recent Avalanches? | No |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Observation: Turnagain
Location: Magnum West Face to 3200'
Ascended the NW ridge of Magnum and skied West Face
Overall we found good stability along the entire route. Focused on surface snow, top 6″-12″. We observed moderate Easterly winds in the late afternoon and found 2″ fresh wind slab at 3200′ on a Western aspect as a result of current wind loading. Wind slabs were not connected to the steeper Western slope below us in this location at this time.
Obvious signs of instability
Observer Comments
Small shooting crack in top 2" of snow at 3200' on West aspect. A very fresh windslab as a result of moderate Easterly winds.
Weather
Periods of snow flurries, and periods of broken sky cover
Visibility was variable to good at times
Easterly ridge top winds- Moderate - late afternoon (3-4pm)
Temps - 33F at road, 25F along ridge
Rain/snow line was near 800' - light rain on North side of Turnagain increasing to moderate rain near Girdwood
Snow surface
1000'-1500' breakable crust became very thin at 1500'
1500'-2000' - 6-10" of soft, settled and slightly moist snow on stout crust below
2000-3000' - 6-12" of soft, settling snow. Near NW ridge slab densities varied. Could feel old wind stiffened snow, up-side-down in places. Hand sheer test results varied from no results to several Q2 sheers requiring moderate-strong force.
Snowpack
Probed around between 2900'-3200' - Height of snow varied from 10cm near rimed ridge to 220cm about 15' away from ridge. Found several wind drifted areas >300cm.
Focused on surface snow and found overall good stability, with the exception of very small wind slabs forming at 3200' on Western aspect, as a result of current wind loading.
Moderate Easterly gusts at 3200'
Hand sheers varied -some produced no results and several were moderate-strong with Q2 sheers.
Many glide cracks still exist along the East Face of Seattle Ridge
Close up view of small glide release, ~1300' on East face of Seattle, just South of motorized up-track
Zoomed out view of glide release on East aspect of Seattle Ridge
Observed a party of 5 putting in a skin track up the center of the West face of Magnum… probably not the best location - very steep terrain and people skiing above can not see you.
3200' on Magnum