Date of Observation: 12/29/2021
Name: Ben Pritchett
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Red Lady skin track
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Saw one fresh D2-2.5 avalanche below the flat ridge section. This was adjacent to, but lower down the ridge than the skier triggered one from Dec 25. There was a ski track on the ridge nearby, so skiers might have triggered this feature from above. The crown was 2-3′ deep and took out a few trees in a short run of only a couple hundred feet.
Weather: Ridgeline Wind Speed: 10-20 mph
Ridgeline Wind Direction: W
Wind Loading: Light
Temperature: 20 F
Sky Cover: Obscured
Depth of Total Snow: 150 cm
Weather Description: Steady light snow most of the day. We experienced a brief lull in snowfall around mid-day, but it picked back up in the afternoon. Cloudy, poor visibility.
Snowpack: Travelled on southerly slopes and experienced no collapsing or cracking. The snowpack was around 140cm deep near the bottom of the mountain, with the December snow resting on mostly dirt and a few scattered crusts. Mid-mountain I measured around 150-160cm of snowpack, mostly resting on a stout crust capping percolation tubes and large facets.
