Date of Observation: 12/17/2021
Name: Ben Pritchett
Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Gothic Road to East River
Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches:
Weather: Ridgeline Wind Speed: 10-20 mph
Ridgeline Wind Direction: W
Wind Loading: None
Temperature: 15 F
Sky Cover: Overcast
Depth of New Snow: 4 cm
Depth of Total Snow: 65 cm
Weather Description: Light snow showers, chilly, just a bit of wind, but not enough to move snow in the valley.
Snowpack: Several large, slope-scale collapses with spiderweb cracks where settled slabs sat previously undisturbed on old weak snow. Where I found snow deeper than around 2.5′ deep, predictably the slope would collapse and crack. Where the snowpack was shallower on slopes that lacked the old snow, the Dec 9-10 storm snow is beginning to facet and loose strength (in this particularly cold valley).
