Trigger | Skier | Remote Trigger | Yes |
Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | Unknown |
Elevation | unknown | Slope Angle | 38deg |
Crown Depth | 2ft | Width | 200ft |
Vertical Run | 800ft |
Toured up to the Knob from Gold Mint. As clouds cleared, we saw lots of natural avalanches across the valley. See avalanche details for more info.
Trigger | Skier | Remote Trigger | Yes |
Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | Unknown |
Elevation | unknown | Slope Angle | 38deg |
Crown Depth | 2ft | Width | 200ft |
Vertical Run | 800ft |
Our party set out to check out the state of the new storm snow out of Gold Mint following the recent storm cycle. Touring up towards the Knob, upper snowpack was consistently heavy, wet over rounding facets and weak, soft snow below new storm snow. There were clear signs of wind transport in the recent storm snow with small cornices and wind deposits on north facing features. Choosing conservative terrain, we worked the southern ridge and began to traverse north to assess terrain adjacent to some of the steeper convexities on the Knob. While in the flats, we felt a whumph and decided to nudge towards a low-angle top out. From here, the lead trailbreaker felt a whumph and then saw large, wet rollerballs moving down hill at approximately 250 meters to the north. We toured up to observe the remote-triggered At this time, a small break in the clouds was allowing enough light to come through what was otherwise an overcast day to see the avalanche path better and take some photos.
We also observed several natural avalanches across the road from the Knob. See photos. Throughout our tour, hand shears and pole probing revealed a snowpack that is very upside down. With warm temperatures and this setup, conservative terrain selection remains the name of the game.
Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
Collapsing (Whumphing)? | Yes |
Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Overcast, light snow at 1800, trended towards a break with some solar input at 1830.
Wet, heavy new storm snow, 20-30"
Easy hand shears, had some whumphing in isolated spots along route.