Date of Observation: 11/11/2022
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Baldy Mountain via Gothic Corridor.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Observed a couple of small recent avalanches than appeared to fail in the recent snow. All above treeline; north through east aspects.
Weather: Cold air temperatures, light northwest winds with some occasional gusts transporting tiny amounts of snow under mostly clear skies.
Snowpack: We traveled mostly through easterly aspects up to 12,200. New snow accumulations ranged from 4-8″. Relatively light winds during and following the recent snowfall did not produce much loading; a nearby northwest-facing (windward) alpine feature was still holding much of the recent storm snow (see photo). While ascending easterly slopes near treeline we experienced a couple of moderate-sized collapses; a test profile revealed facets sitting atop the 11/3 melt/freeze crust. The overlying slab was around 60cm thick and remains soft in sheltered areas but could produce avalanches on terrain features with previous drifting. The most recent snowfall made it difficult to visually identify terrain features with previous drifting and stiffer more cohesive slabs. Additionally, we traveled on alpine southeast-facing terrain and found around 8″ of new snow resting on a supportive to skis melt/freeze crust with a foot of dry snow below that with some ice columns supporting the crust to the ground.
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- A small recent avalanche on an east-facing slope of Mount Baldy. Cohesive, wind-drifted snow that caused this avalanche was only found immediately below cornices and did not extend down slope.
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- View into Emerald Bowl’s north and northwest-facing terrain. This terrain retained much of the recent storm snow thanks to lighter winds. The fresh blanket of new snow made it very challenging to identify where older, wind-drifted slabs existed.
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- Snow coverage on south/westerly aspects of Elk Mountains. Pyramid Peak on the left and Precarious on the right.
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- Snow coverage on westerly slopes of the Elk Mountains. Precarious on the far left and White Mountain on far right.
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- Snow coverage on northeast slopes of Quigley Creek (Baldy) foreground and north/westerly aspects of Gothic Mountain in background.
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- Surprisingly good coverage on easterly slopes of Baldy. Snow depth ranged from 60-90 in this terrain.
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- View of test profile adjacent to collapsing. East-facing at 11,700 feet.
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- Snow profile from test site.
