Date of Observation: 01/30/2023
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Mt Axtell, mostly below treeline, poked into ridgeline near treeline terrain too.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Some small sluffing and micro slabs with ski cuts BTL
Weather: Light to moderate snowfall rates this morning, with a few inches on the skin track and a few more by midday. Moderate winds with significant previous and ongoing transport as we got into more wind exposed terrain.
Snowpack: Below treeline: very soft slab (12”, F) on a soft lightly faceted interface, not much propagation; ski cuts would crumple small slabs and behave more like sluffs.
Near treeline in wind exposed terrain (Wang Chung and 4th Bowl) there were obvious drifts; flat light and the high consequence terrain here made it difficult to get any feedback.
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- An example of a ski cut that cracked and the slab crumbled into a little bit of harmless moving snow.
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- Quick test on a southeast facing slope below treeline at valley bottom. Easy fracture initiation, failure didn’t cross column. ECTNE.
