Date of Observation: 04/08/2022
Name: Zach Guy
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Traveled on E and SE aspects of Cinammon Mountain just before noon, and S to SW aspects shortly after noon. Tested some steep, low elevation E to NE slopes above the Slate River around 1 p.m.
Observed avalanche activity: No
Weather: Light northwest winds. Clear skies. Warm temps.
Snowpack: No signs of instabilities or avalanche problems observed. Ski, boot, and snowmobile penetration never got deeper than the top few inches of wet snow. Surfaces varied from 2″ to 3″ of recent storm snow, isolated drifts, thin wind board, or old melt-freeze crusts brought to the surface by wind erosion. All of these surfaces got wet or moist today but became cohesionless only in the top few inches. The moistening storm snow produced a few shallow rollerballs below treeline. The only types of slopes where it seemed there was potential to get any wet snow moving was on very dusty surfaces (where the snow was more brown than white). The dust expedited warming and caused ski/boot pen to decay to about 6″ in the afternoon. Good corn started around 11 a.m. on Southeast aspects and around noon on South aspects at 11-12k ft.
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- The only rollerballs today were on NE aspects BTL, where the last couple inches of storm snow got damp for the first time today.
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- The purple palace glide crack. Not a great place to hang out underneath, regardless of avalanche danger
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- East aspect NTL, 11:30 a.m. 2″ of ski pen into wet snow above a firm and frozen snowpack = safe corn skiing.
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- Testing for a weakening snowpack on a hot, sunbaked east facing slope at 1 p.m. The snowmobile was only sinking in a few inches, which is a good sign.
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- Exceptionally dusty slopes, like the two highlighted, seemed like terrain where you might be able to trigger a wet loose avalanche. That’s because the dust absorbs heat more readily than white snow.
