Date of Observation: 01/09/2022
Name: Zach Guy and Jack Caprio
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Schuykill Ridge, NE to E aspects to 11,400 ft.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: A handful of small wind slabs on Peeler Peek ran naturally yesterday, D1 soft slabs. Added some more previously undocumented slides from the holiday cycle, details below, and took a closer look at some that we’ve already reported. Slides on Yogi’s snapped trees up to 12″ in diameter. We checked out one of the crowns in the Great Wide Open. The crown averaged about 5 to 6 feet thick, up to 15 feet where it connected to a cornice above it. In the deepest part of the crown, the failure layer was 2mm in size, pencil minus in hardness below a knife hard slab. At an average part of the crown, the failure layer was 2 to 3mm in size, 4F in hardness. The layer was right at the ground.
Weather: Beautiful day! Cold, calm, clear.
Snowpack: 6″ to 8″ of low-density new snow produced shallow sluffing in steep terrain, otherwise no signs of instability. Didn’t see surface hoar preserved below the new snow in a few hand pits, although the current low-density snow surface will surely facet over the next few days.
Probed into the start zone and upper track of a path that ran early in the holiday cycle, likely on 12/24, as well as on 12/10. I can feel the 12/6 layer still, but it is buried by a 200 cm slab now. I probed and dug hand pits in the start zones of several paths that ran late in the cycle (guessing 12/30 and 12/31). HS was 100 to 130 cm, and the slides went at the ground and completely wiped the 12/6 layer off the slope. The snowpack structure in those hand pits was just consolidated storm snow to the ground.
Photos:
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Natural soft slabs in wind drifted terrain from yesterday’s storm. Peeler Peak.
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Natural soft slab in wind drifted terrain from yesterday’s storm. Peeler Peak.
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Crown by the Great Wide Open at its thickest, where it connects to a cornice above.
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The powder cloud from one of the Great Wide Open slides stripped branches 25 feet up these trees on the opposite side of the creek.
Estimated avalanche date: 01/08/2022
Number of Avalanches: 3
Location
Location: Oh-Be-Joyful Basin
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: ATL: Above Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: New/Old interface
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches): 10
Avg. width (feet): 30
Avg. vertical run (feet): 50
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: NE
Estimated avalanche date: 01/08/2022
Number of Avalanches: 2
Location
Location: Oh-Be-Joyful Basin
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: ATL: Above Tree Line
Aspect: N
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: New/Old interface
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments:
Estimated avalanche date: 12/24/2021
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Schuylkill Ridge
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane:
Size
Relative Size: R3 medium
Destructive Size: D2.5
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Runaway ski looks like it ran early in the storm, guessing 12/24. Slide ran over the bench and towards the bottom.
Estimated avalanche date: 12/30/2021
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: Schuylkill Ridge
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: NE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Hard Slab
Failure Plane: Old snow
Size
Relative Size: R4 large
Destructive Size: D3.5
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Thanksgiving Bowl ran fairly late in the storm (sometime between 12/28 to 12/30) on the ground. Slide appeared to go mostly wall to wall and ran well past the bench towards valley floor. About 130 cm snow on bedsurface today.
Estimated avalanche date:
Number of Avalanches:
Location
Location:
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation:
Aspect:
Characteristics
Trigger:
Trigger modifier:
Type:
Failure Plane:
Size
Relative Size:
Destructive Size:
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments:
5230