Date of Observation: 02/02/2023
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Snodgrass front side.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A suspected remotely triggered avalanche and an adjacent ‘other’ avalanche. Maybe sympathetic maybe natural??
Weather: Clear skies, mild temperatures, and light winds.
Snowpack: I went to investigate the snowpack structure in an avalanche observation submitted on the morning of 2/2 ( original observation – https://cbavalanchecenter.org/solo-snod-surprise/ ). While driving to the Snodgrass TH, I observed another avalanche adjacent to the one reported. My observation comes from the looker’s right avalanche, not the one with the track next to it. This avalanche failed on a facet/crust layer in the middle of the snowpack; the total depth was around 3 feet with a 16-inch deep crown. I am uncertain of the exact interface date, but it was certainly prior to 1/27 which is the date for the last storm interface. Test results in two nearby places produced ECTN moderate and unstable ECTP 9 results. I think part of the avalanche failed above the crust and part of it failed below the crust. The bed surface was hard to make sense of due to warm temperatures from yesterday and the wet surface snow in the bed surface while I was on site around 2pm on Thursday. While exiting the crown site, I collapsed a portion of the hangfire, but it did not avalanche…likely due to lower slope angles. Sunny slopes in this area were wet in the top 2 inches of snow with another inch of moist snow below that.
