Date of Observation: 02/04/2022
Name: BEN GRAVES
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Toured from Lost Lake into cirque below summit of East Beckwith.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Many R1 D1 natural slides on East/SE above tree line. 12000 ft on steep rocky slopes. ~6” crown. S
Two skier triggered R1 sluffs below tree line. Ski cut on Steep 45 degree north facing trees . Ran in new snow/top 10cm of highly faceted snow
Weather: Clear. No wind. Cold
Snowpack: At and below tree line the top 10+ cm of snow was highly faceted. Hard to skin on anything steeper than 30 degrees and completely
unconsolidated Some sun crust on east/SE slopes with 2-10 cm of new wind blown snow depending on aspect and trees. Small collapses were observed and felt at tree line. No propagation and get generally very stable. Sluffing on all steep shaded slopes but easy to avoid and manage.
Above tree line- 1-5 cm wind slab was starting to form on North facing slopes (12000 ft) not quite cardboard trap door but starting to get there.
East facing was the softest most rideable slopes ATL. SE had small natural avalanche activity.
Photos:
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[accordion_item title=”Avalanche Report #1″ parent_id=”my-accordion” open=”false”]Estimated avalanche date: 02/04/2022
Number of Avalanches: 2
Location
Location: Beckwith Range
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: NTL: Near Tree Line
Aspect: N
Characteristics
Trigger: Skier
Trigger modifier: Controlled
Type: Loose
Failure Plane: New/Old interface
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches): 6
Avg. width (feet): 50ft
Avg. vertical run (feet): 150ft
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments: Both new and old snow sluff
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Estimated avalanche date: 02/04/2022
Number of Avalanches: 5+
Location
Location: Beckwith Range
Location Specific:
Start Zone Elevation: ATL: Above Tree Line
Aspect: SE
Characteristics
Trigger: Natural
Trigger modifier:
Type: Soft Slab
Failure Plane: New/Old interface
Size
Relative Size: R1 very small
Destructive Size: D1- Relatively harmless to people
Avg. crown height (inches): 6-10”
Avg. width (feet): 75
Avg. vertical run (feet): 150
Involvements
# of people caught:
# of partial burials:
# of full burials:
Additional comments:
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