Elkton Knob descent of the Gothic Mountain Tour observations

Date of Observation: 02/15/2023
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate TH on snowmo’s to Pittsburg. Tour along the Gothic Mountain Tour descent route off Elkton Knob.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Handful of small, natural avalanches failing midstorm depth. Remotely triggered three small avalanches on drifted terrain features at 10,900 feet, avalanches failed at the mid-storm interface.
Weather: Light snowfall and light winds in this area. Settled storm total of 17″ at 10,000 feet near Pittsburg and only about 10″ at the Slate River trailhead.
Snowpack: The storm snow was generally stubborn to human triggers in sheltered areas as the strong precipitation rates had ended before we were in the terrain but cracking up to a ski length was common. Drifted slopes remained very sensitive at the mid-storm interface into the afternoon and up to 2 feet thick. Digging into the west-facing slopes at the bottom of the Elkton Knob descent I found a facet/crust weak layer beneath the storm snow that was unreactive in snowpack tests and to human triggers (see photo). The slab above is not big enough in sheltered areas to collapse the underlying crust BUT could be on drifted terrain or in the future with further loading events. The drifted southwest-facing slope, at 10,900 feet, where I was able to remotely trigger small avalanches has a very strong crust, around 6 inches thick, below the storm snow.