Date of Observation: 12/03/2021
Name: billy barr
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: There was a slab release, looks like a 1 foot fracture that went nowhere, on the ESE facing end of Gothic Mountain a few days back but too small to get any photo of and only visible in the early morning sun.
Weather: In 4 of the past 5 days there has been a record high temperature, including beating the old record yesterday by a whopping 3½ºC. Everyday since November 28 has set a record for the shallowest snowpack for those dates and this will continue until we get a few inches of snow. Currently there is 1″ on the ground (with this little snow that amount is an average of the snow depth in a given area around the snow pole, though actually this is what is at the pole right now). Yesterday’s high was 55ºF and it has been at 50º or warmer the past 4 days and 47ºF or warmer for the past week. (note that these temperatures may seem too high but i have multiple temperature devices to make certain these numbers are accurate). This winter now has the least amount of snowfall to date of any winter of the past 48 years- not, however, the least amount of SWE given the high density of snowfall.