Date of Observation: 11/10/2022
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Purple Ridge, traveled on E, NE, and N aspects to 12,300′
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Some minor dry loose avalanches triggered by solar warming yesterday and today off of steep, rocky terrain features.
Weather: Clear, light ridgetop winds, temperatures rebounding.
Snowpack: Went hunting for feedback from our wind slab problem. There were only a few features of concern that I could safely approach and stomp around on, and I got minimal cracking. In contrast, these same types of features were more reactive late last week.
Otherwise, most terrain has soft snow that continues to facet and weaken. It’s becoming unsupportive below treeline and on shallower, rocky areas near treeline.
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- Minor sluffs. Not a hazard but an indication of how weak the snow surface is in most terrrain.
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- A few features of concern that I would still avoid, given the previous drifting and higher consequences
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- Terrain features where you might find lingering wind slab issues.
