Date of Observation: 02/05/2022
Name: Eric Murrow
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Cement Creek TH to Horse Basin drainage up the north ridge. Descended into North Bowl from 12K.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Skier triggered a D1 Loose on a north aspect at 11,800′. Observed some minor Loose avalanches from a previous group skiing some near treeline northeast-facing shots, but debris piles looked pretty small.
Weather: Clear skies, very cold valley bottom temps, but mild air temps as we ascended to above treeline. Light winds with moderate gusts in late AM from the west eased by the PM and made for comfortable conditions while above the treeline. Did not observe any wind-loading; an inch or so of soft snow was still sitting on ridge tops waiting to be transported to leeward features.
Snowpack: We traveled on northerly aspects at all elevations. Generally, found 6 to 8 inches of weak surface snow (1-2mm facets) available for Loose avalanche entrainment. I poked into several northeast-facing near and above treeline leeward features and was able to produce shallow cracks about an inch deep, but drifts were tiny and isolated to immediately below cornices or ridgetop. Alpine terrain has held up well during windy periods over the past week. Lots of soft ‘dapple” textured snow in the alpine with a few areas of smooth, thin windboard.
-
- Broad view of North Bowl. You can see the small Loose avalanche on a steep rollover midslope.
-
- Closer view of the small Loose avalanche I triggered.
-
- Lots of soft, textured faceted snow in Cement Mountain’s North Bowl. Shaded area is due north and sunny terrain tilts northwest.
