Date of Observation: 01/16/2023
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River Road to Poverty Gulch and ski tour by Baxter Basin.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Visibility was marginal but I got reasonable views of Happy Chutes, Climax Chutes, Schuylkill Ridge, Cascade and some glimpses of Baxter Basin and Richmond Mountain. Loose Dry avalanches were common on very steep slopes near and below treeline. Most seemed to be from tree bombs or shedding cliff features. I did not see any significant propagation and the debris piles were small.
Weather: Light snowfall late morning through mid-afternoon that amounted to an inch or so. Winds remained light with very little evidence of drifting overnight or during the day. I occasionally was able to hear stronger winds at the ridge top. Storm total at 230 pm was 17″ with 1.3″ snow water equivalent at 10,700 feet.
Snowpack: Shovel Tilt Test’s revealed easy results in the top 6 inches and moderate results at the base of the storm snow. ECTN easy score at base of storm snow but no propagating results. Cracking in the new snow was limited to a ski length at most and was typically in top 6 inches with a few harder cuts cracking to base of the storm snow. Loose Dry avalanches were easy to initiate in the low-density snow. Test slopes produced no signs of slab instability. I looked in several places for buried surface hoar and did not find it. Snow depths in a wind-affected area at 10,600 feet ranged from 200 cm to 300+ cm.
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- Shovel Tilt Test showing a density change at the base of the storm snow. The top 6 inches are missing from this image due to it crumbling after failing. The top six inches were extremely low density.
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- Easy to trigger Loose Dry avalanches on steep terrain. On large slopes, I suspect this would easily gather enough snow to carry or knock a person down.
