Date of Observation: 02/22/2022
Name: Theresa Henry
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Traveling north out Gothic Road about 1.5 miles from Snodgrass TH.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Noticed ski tracks on NE facing glades (about a mile out) and saw that skiers had traveled safely back on road. I xc skied with dog about 1.5 miles and noticed a slide directly above the road, large shooting cracks (see pic 1) taken at 1:42pm. I took some pics and turned around. On way back for the next 1/2 mile I noticed several more slides which had just occurred. I may have unknowingly triggered some of them or they naturally slid and I have impeccable timing. Some slides ran to the road over my ski tracks, about a foot or two deep. Avalanches occurred between 1:30-1:45
Weather: 20 degrees, hazy sun barely poking out of thin clouds
Snowpack: 6-8 inches new snow, turned wet and heavy
Photos:
Estimated avalanche date: 02/22/2022
Number of Avalanches: 4
Location
Location: Snodgrass
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: BTL: Below Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Unknown
Trigger modifier:
Type:
Failure Plane:
Size
Relative Size:
Destructive Size: D1.5
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: The sizes of each avalanche varied. Biggest might have run about a 100ft wide. Probably biggest vertical run was about 100 feet as well.
I noticed lots of shooting cracks from road and from around each avalanche. Crowns maybe a foot deep. Might have buried a dog, knocked a skier down or into trees.
Skiers had just skied out of popular snodgrass exit onto Gothic Road, probably no more than an hour prior to me getting there. I broke trail on the road at that point and around next bend is where I witnessed 1st avalanche. I saw at least 3-4 more avalanches uphill from the road throughout the glade areas. I may have remotely triggered but the bits of sun did heat up the snowpack too.
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