Date of Observation: 04/05/2023
Name: Ben Pritchett
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Cement Creek to Hunter Creek to Star Pass
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: One small cornice-triggered D1 slab in the Timbered Hill Chutes, which looked like it ran Sunday at the end of the last warm-up. The cornice chunks and debris gouged like the snow was wet a the time.
Weather: Broken skies, flat light, cold temperatures, and nearly calm westerly winds.
Snowpack: Below treeline, the snowpack on all aspects has undergone 4 melt-freeze cycles in the last month (2x in early March, the beginning of the March 20 storm, and late March warm-up). These crusts had water percolate between them repeatedly, making for a very stout upper snowpack structure now. Even at the upper elevations of this elevation band on shady slopes where thin crusts formed, we found no weak layers of concern.
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[accordion_item title=”Avalanche Report #1″ parent_id=”my-accordion” open=”false”]Estimated avalanche date: 04/05/2023
Number of Avalanches: 1
Location
Location: East Brush Creek (Star Pass, Friends Hut)
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: SE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane:
Size
Relative Size:
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches):
Avg. width (feet):
Avg. vertical run (feet):
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Timbered Hill Chutes
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