DATE OF OBSERVATION: 03/24/2015
NAME: Evan Ross
ASPECT: S,NE
ELEVATION: ATL 12,800-11,000
AVALANCHES: One natural soft slab running on the east face of Mt. Owen. SS-N-R1-D1.5-U
WEATHER: Clear through the first half of the day and becoming mostly cloudy by 2pm. Westerly winds where gusting during the first part of the day with some blowing snow, before becoming more sustained at Moderate speeds with more continued drifting.
SNOWPACK: New snow was relatively dense above treeline with drifts up to 25cm deep. We found thin wind slabs 2-4″ thick on many slope and one 6″ thick slab on an isolated pocket. These slabs would pop in hand shears within the new snow, but we didn’t observe any cracking or other signs to instability while skiing slopes over 40 degrees. Small sloughs running within the new snow were the only concern.
Snow surfaces stayed dry today at these elevations and on all aspects toured. Also, there was a lot of graupel, sometimes buried within the new snow and sometimes on the surface, it was like a giant sandbox on some slopes.
UPLOADS:
Natural soft slab running on the east face of Mt. Owen. SS-N-R1-D1.5-U
IMG_0467