Observation: Summit

Location: Manitoba Mountain (upper bench below peak)

Date:

February 18, 2019 2:00pm

Observer:

Michael Olive

Route & General Observations

(Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol) NSAA tour from cabin to little Manitoba. Clearing skies/visibility allowed us to get up above treeline.

Red Flags

Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.

Obvious signs of instability

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

Observer Comments

Full length avalanche west facing slope of Spirit Walker.

Weather & Snow Characteristics

Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.

Weather

Clearing skies, light periodic snow flurries.

Snow surface

New snow from Sunday.

Snowpack

Heavier dense snow from Sunday on top of Saturday's light and drier snow. Pockets of buried wind slab underneath. Collapsing under skis. No shooting cracks. Hand pits failed easily between heavier and lighter snow sometimes on isolation. Quick pit below upper bench. Shovel shear easy Q2 at interface with heavier and lighter snow (10cm below surface). Compression test failed on isolation (same interface). Extended column test, failed under shovel @1, no propogation.

Photos & Video

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Clearing skies. This was not visible previous two days.

Location

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