Date of Observation: 01/31/2016
Name: Irwin Guides
Aspect: East, South, West
Elevation: 10,000-12,000
Avalanches: lots of high speed sluffiing, full track D1.5
Weather: Overcast skies all day, Snowing S2 throughout the day, moderate S SW winds, Kicking up to Strong @ 16:30.
17″ overnight, 7″ during day. Storm: 23″ / 1.65 (includes settlement)
Snowpack: Recent Observations: (Surface, structure, cracking, collapsing, PWLs, Ski Pen)
10:00-15:30 Storm right side up & generally well bonded to old surfaces & no cracking. Except a SS-D1 above Hollywood & Vine (see below)
~15:30 started seeing tiny D1’s with up to 25ft propagation ~15cm deep >37*
East: No sloughing via ski cuts through swill, Explosive triggered & skier triggered sloughs widespread through EBM to Thin line. Some up to D1.5 & running fast & far within storm layer.
South: Wind Slab D1 ran on old MfCr, 50cm deep all of HST (F -4f @ bottom) 30 feet wide, 40* @ ridgline above Hollywood & Vine. Confined by small start zone.
Sunny shoulder West –SE Soft Slab with variable shear quality on old crust interface, some SP others well bonded.
West: Fast moving sloughs reactive via ski cuts. Sunset L flushed D 1.5 with deposition well into the top of the Round Two trees. Far Out sloughed top to bottom by Big Trigger.