Weather:
Overcast skies
Warm temps – mid to low 30’s
Gusty Easterly winds with snow devils seen at higher elevations
Light rain to 1,500′ with light snow above
Obvious Signs of Instability:
Recent Avalanches – Yes
Collapsing – No
Cracking – No
Avalanche activity:
Two shallow, but wide propagating, slabs released naturally on the Magnum’s Northern face (~3,000′).
These appeared to have been cross-loaded by the winds overnight and ran sometime in the early morning.
Crown depth – difficult to see, possibly 10-12″
Vertical run – ~600-800′
Width – ~200-300′
Surface Conditions:
2,000′ and below: the top 4-8″ of snow is saturated and wet. Wet loose avalanche potential as this sits on
a stout melt-freeze crust.
2,000′-2,500′: Damp 4-6″ of snow from 2/11 sits on 4-6″ of dry faceted snow (poor structure)
2,500′ and above: Did not travel to this elevation but snow appears to dry out quickly with elevation.
Snowpack:
Poor structure from 2,500′ and above. 6+” of snow from 2/11 sits on 4-6″ of very weak faceted snow. The
facets sit on the Mid-Jan crust. Although the slab is relatively shallow on Sunburst, the ridge harbors more
wind loading and deeper slabs.
Two natural avalanches on the North face of Magnum - Difficult to see anything other than debris in photo
Rollerballs on Sunburst's SW face - indicative of warming temperatures and strong winds
Rain on snow and free water is infiltrating the approaches on the Pass
Kool-Aid test to find out where rain falling on the snowpack wants to pool and run (in the top 5cm in this case)