Date of Observation: 04/01/2023

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: This avalanche ran late on 4/1. Natural or a remote trigger.

Date of Observation: 04/01/2023
Name: Evan Ross

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Mt Emmons. Redwell Tour.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A wide propagating slab on an easterly aspect into Redwell Basin. 11,600ft. D2. Avalanche debris looked soft so I’d estimate it ran yesterday during the storm.

A fresh cornice fell in redwell basin, probably ran this morning or at the end of the storm. D2.

A fresh cornice fell in the Climax Chutes, probably ran this morning or at the end of the storm. D1.5

Roller balls and some small loose wet avalanches around the solar half of the compass.

Weather: Clear sky, rising temps. Calm winds down low and light winds in the alpine.

Snowpack: At 10,800ft on the South side of Mt Emmons the recent HST was 35cm. We climbed the south side of Mt Emmons while the snow was just warming, then skied dry snow of the West and north sides. By the time we hit OBJ and changed both aspects and elevation the snow surface was wet. This tour was for good snow and avoided the avalanche problems.

Date of Observation: 04/01/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Viewed from Mt. CB

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Several D2 wind slabs on Avery and Gothic that ran yesterday. Numerous small wet loose today (D1s). And of course the very large persistent slab off of Gothic, which triggered an additional persistent slab crown below the cliff band.
Weather: Clear skies, mild temps, occasional light drifting near wind exposed summits.

Date of Observation: 04/01/2023
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic townsite

Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Light to moderate snow Friday morning with light afternoon snow and steady wind with strong gusts as it remained cloudy all day. Wind slowed after dark, becoming light just before sunrise with gradual clearing after midnight. Total new 24 hour snowfall was 5½” new with water 0.38″. Snowpack reached 95½” (a record depth for March 31) and now sits at 94½” with a partly cloudy sky and just a light breeze. March ended with 102½” snowfall with water of 9.24″- 4th most snow in a March and second most water content since 1975. And just think- we were all here to shovel through it.

Date of Observation: 03/31/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Baxter Basin area; traveled on North to East to Southeast aspects to about 11,000′.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Ski triggered a 10″ wind slab on a small test slope. Visibility was too poor to see most avalanche terrain.
Weather: Moderate to heavy snowfall. Strong, variable winds. They were initially blowing down the basin (out of the west) and then switched to blowing up the basin (out of the north). Periods of intense wind drifting.
Snowpack: Valley floor storm totals ranged from about 10″ at the Slate TH to 20″ in Poverty Gulch. In wind-sheltered terrain, the snow was fairly low density and cohesionless, and sluffed in steep terrain. The snow got noticeably thicker and denser in wind-affected terrain. Drifts were up to 3 feet thick in some areas, and other areas were scoured down to yesterday’s crust. I got a mix of shooting cracks and nothing on steep drifted features. Cracks were up to 30′ long.

Date of Observation: 03/30/2023
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Traveled above the East River just up valley from the confluence with Brush Creek.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: One slab avalanche that ran in the upper snowpack that likely failed during warming a few days ago on low elevation east slope. Intentionally triggered a Windslab on a small northwest-facing slope near valley bottom, this feature has an abnormally huge fetch. Wind Slab was resting above 1mm facets above a crust.
Weather: Mostly cloudy skies with moderate winds through 2pm. Snowfall and strong SSW winds started around 3pm.
Snowpack: HS through this low-elevation terrain typically ranged from 90 to 120cm outside of drifted terrain. A quick profile on a south-southeast slope at 9,100 feet showed a strong structure with ice columns to the ground which indicated meltwater has made its way through the entire snowpack (this strong structure is not common throughout the greater forecast area). A profile into the bed surface of the intentionally trigger slide, on a drifted northwest slope, showed a 10″ thick crust/ice column matrix resting about 2 feet of depth hoar. Surface conditions on northerly features were a thin melt/freeze crust with 6 inches of faceted snow below.

Date of Observation: 03/29/2023
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Evans Basin on Mount Emmons and Kebler Pass/Ohio Pass corridor.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A few small loose avalanches from warming today. Two loose avalanches triggered slabs on east aspects. One older avalanche likely failed during Monday’s storm that initially failed in storm snow and then stepped down two more feet; this avalanche snapped on small tree in the runout (D2.5).
Weather: Increasing clouds in the morning that were mostly cloudy in the afternoon. Temps reached close to 40 degrees below treeline. Light winds at low elevations, no snow transport was observed above treeline in the areas I traveled.
Snowpack: I took a look at the impact of yesterday’s and today’s warming on the snowpack on the south half of the compass. In general, I found crusts 1.5 – 3 cm thick (up to 1.25 inchs). I did not find liquid water draining into the snowpack much below the surface. Crusts on some steep sunny slopes might be supportive to skis tomorrow, but I suspect slightly breakable. I observed several snowbike tracks on steep sunny below treeline slopes that did not produce avalanche activity.

Date of Observation: 03/29/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Ruby Range, viewed from Mt. CB

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A couple of large cornice falls (Owen and Scarp Ridge), a handful of small wet loose on S-E aspects A/NTL, and a hot wind slab. These are new since I put binos on the same terrain yesterday around 11 a.m.
Weather: Clouds increased mid-day. Above freezing temps.

Date of Observation: 03/29/2023
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Perry Creek, viewed from Mt. CB

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Destructive natural persistent slab, S-SE aspect above Perry Creek, ran to the ground shortly below start zone. Turner spotted this one fresh yesterday afternoon.