Date of Observation: 03/10/2022
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Lower Slate and Lower OBJ, various aspects traveling mostly below treeline.
Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches: Had so-so vis into Redwell Basin and didn’t see anything notable. Maybe a couple of thin, small soft slabs on northerly below treeline.
Weather: Wintery temps. Very light snowfall this afternoon. Light northwest winds were drifting snow near valley bottom. No transport higher up.
Snowpack: About 6″ to 8″ new. Got a couple of large, rumbling collapses near the valley bottom on moderate angled NE aspects. Got one deep but localized collapse on a flat ridgeline at 11,000ft. These were all on the sandbox layer about 3 feet down. Got a few minor cracks and one shallow collapse that radiated about 40 ft on a steep south facing slope. This was on the 3/8 crust, which is a thin, soft crust that developed during the one sunny day between storms this week. There was about 6″ of storm snow above the crust; not sure there’s enough to produce a slab avalanche unless you were in a drifted location. We traveled on steep southeast aspects and a few east/northeast facing bed surfaces from the 2/23 cycle with no signs of instability on either.