Date of Observation: 04/07/2022
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River to Poverty Gulch. Up Poverty Gulch to Ruby Range spine between Augusta and Purple Mountain.
Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Clear skies, seasonably cool temps, and westerly winds blowing around 15 gusts to 30’s. Temps nearing 40 below treeline, and mid-20s above treeline.
Snowpack: Above treeline, the snow surface largely remained frozen on east to south aspects; just enough softening to make for ‘grippy’ corn conditions but far from good. Around 11k and below riding conditions softened nicely on the south half of the compass, but not enough to cause any loose avalanche concerns. Moving through a large alpine basin, I found stiff slabs, 3-10 inches thick, from the recent extreme wind event were scattered about, more commonly found near treeline than above. They often looked smooth and had a slightly off-white color. I stomped on a few of these recent drifts on small features without result but avoided them on steeper terrain with consequence. This area has received the most snowfall over the past week, and on east through south features, near and above treeline, I found 4-12 inches of snow that could be entrained in a loose wet avalanche IF conditions warm enough during the next few days.
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- The north side of Augusta had an area of smooth, drifted snow below the cornice. This was one of the larger sections of drifted snow I observed above treeline in this area.
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- A good example of northerly-facing alpine terrain in the Mineral Point/Augusta basin. Lots of scoured and eroded terrain with a few areas of smooth, drifted snow.
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- A quick look at an alpine east feature with around 12 inches of settled snow over the past week. There is a soft, melt/freeze crust at the surface, but the recent storm snow underneath remains dry. The thick crust from the late March warm period will likely limit any potential wet loose avalanches over the next few days of warming.
