Date of Observation: 02/23/2022
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Mount Axtell ridgeline and west facing glades to 12,000 ft.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A handful of naturals that ran last night and this morning on Axtell, some D2s in 2nd Bowl and what looks like a D3 where the Pencil ran wall to wall and propagated into the lower part of Wang Chung. We remotely triggered at least one D2.5 in 2nd Bowl, and came across another very fresh slide that we either remotely triggered from very far away or it ran naturally minutes before we got there. There were also a bunch of natural slides above Coal Creek and one above Kebler Pass road, D1 to D1.5 in size. Details in the avalanche tabs.
Weather: Moderate snowfall this morning changed to light snowfall and light winds midday. A pulse came through around 3 p.m. that brought an hour of heavy snowfall rates and notable blowing snow off of the trees.
Snowpack: Widespread collapsing. We even got regular localized collapses in tight trees, which was a noticeable difference from yesterday. It seems that the slopes that were heavily blasted by northerly winds prior to the storm are bonding better than everywhere else. I’m hypothesizing that based on crown line locations and the little bit of feedback I was able to get underfoot in the wind-crusted terrain.
Photos:
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[accordion_item title=”Avalanche Report #1″ parent_id=”my-accordion” open=”false”]Estimated avalanche date: 02/23/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Mount Axtell
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R3 medium
Destructive Size: D3 – could destroy a car, wood-frame house, or snap trees
Avg. crown height (inches): 28
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Pencil ran wall to wall and it looks like it propagated into Wang Chung lower down, or else Wang Chung was a separate slide.
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Estimated avalanche date: 02/22/2022
Number of Avalanches: 3
Location
Location: Mount Axtell
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: N
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R2 small
Destructive Size: D2 – could bury, injure, or kill a person
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Several shots in 2nd bowl ran. Looked like individual events. Ran last night or yesterday, had about 4-6″ on bedsurface.
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Estimated avalanche date: 02/23/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Mount Axtell
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: E
Characteristics
Trigger: Skier
Trigger modifier: Remote
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R2 small
Destructive Size: D2.5
Avg. crown height (inches): 30
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: 2nd bowl. Remote triggered from 10 feet away.
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Estimated avalanche date: 02/23/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Mount Axtell
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: N
Characteristics
Trigger: Skier
Trigger modifier: Remote
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R2 small
Destructive Size: D2 – could bury, injure, or kill a person
Avg. crown height (inches): 18
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: I think this was remote triggered from a long ways away (200 feet or more), although it may have run naturally. 2nd Bowl.
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Estimated avalanche date: 02/23/2022
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Mount Emmons
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: BTL: Below Tree Line
Aspect: E
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R2 small
Destructive Size: D1.5
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Gravel Pit. Ran sometime after we passed by the terrain this morning.
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