Date of Observation: 11/06/2022
Name: Eric Murrow Ben Pritchett
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Snowmobile ride from Washington Gulch to Schofield Pass area. Ski tour on the northern end of Cinnamon Mountain.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: We triggered one small avalanche on a northeast-facing slope, around 11,900′. The avalanche was triggered on a 25-degree slope just off the ridge and propagated into an adjacent wind-drifted feature over 40 degrees in steepness
Weather: Ridgeline Wind Speed: 5-10 mph
Ridgeline Wind Direction: W
Wind Loading: None
Temperature: 33 F
Sky Cover: Overcast
Depth of New Snow: 2 cm
Depth of Total Snow: 60 cm
Weather Description: Warm (just above freezing), snowing lightly (even misting rain off mid day).
Snowpack: We found the November 5th rain crust throughout our trip. Above 11,000 the crust is too thin to play a long-term role, but it’s worth tracking the evolution of this crust below treeline if it remains near the snow surface with cool weather. It could become a problematic faceted crust in time.
Snow height ranged from 20-30cm deep in lower Washington Gulch up to an average 60-70cm deep in wind-sheltered locations near treeline in the Paradise Divide area.
We found recently drifted slabs mostly above treeline, on northerly and easterly-facing slopes near ridgelines. Only the wind-loaded features with a broad and open fetch on their windward side posed a problem. Fresh slabs from the wind on Saturday were generally in the 40-50cm range, resting on a layer of small (1mm) facets.
Wind-sheltered slopes were right-side-up, with denser supportive snow near the ground and soft snow on top.
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- A skier triggered a small slab avalanche from a 25 degree slope just off the ridge. The avalanche propagated into an adjacent and steeper wind-drifted feature, breaking around 2 feet deep. November 6, 2022.
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- The crown of this small skier-triggered avalanche was around 2 feet deep. November 6, 2022.
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- The crown of this small skier-triggered avalanche was around 2 feet deep. November 6, 2022
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- A view of northeast-facing terrain near Pittsburg and the central Ruby Range. November 6, 2022
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- A distant view of south and west-facing terrain in the upper East Fork of the Crystal River, near Schofield Pass. November 6, 2022
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- Schofield Pass SNOTEL site. Manual snow observations in the same meadow confirmed the automated equipment is calibrated well going into the winter. November 6, 2022.
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- A snow profile dug near the Schofield SNOTEL site. November 6, 2022.
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- This typically wind-drifted slope that faces northeast, near treeline has not yet developed a slab avalanche problem. November 6, 2022.
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- This view of the northwest side of Gothic mountain shows many scoured ares where recent winds have removed snow from often cross-loaded features. November 6, 2022
