Observations

Date of Observation: 01/02/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Middle Ruby Range (between Daisy Pass and Purple).

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Numerous destructive avalanches from 12/31 cycle, generally D2.5 to D4, mostly on east to north aspects. Some of these were previously documented and coded on Jan 1, but I’m adding better photos to this ob. Plenty of evidence of smaller or older undocumented slides.

Photos:

5203

Date of Observation: 01/02/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Ruby Range

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Numerous destructive avalanches from 12/31 cycle, generally D3 to D4, mostly on east to north aspects. Some of these were previously documented and coded on Jan 1, but I’m adding better photos to this ob. Plenty of evidence of smaller or older undocumented slides.

Photos:

5202

Date of Observation: 01/02/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Anthracite Range

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Widespread activity from 12/31 cycle on northerly aspects, generally D3 to D3.5. The Budda Bowl slide reportedly destroyed a cabin in the Bracken Creek area. See photo.  Also some smaller slides and older debris piles not coded.

Photos:

5201

Date of Observation: 01/02/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: East and West Beckwith

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Widespread deep slab activity from the 12/31 cycle on north to east aspects, generally in the D3 range. Some older debris piles as well.

Photos:

5200

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: Eric Murrow

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Washington Gulch TH out to Baldy, ascended and descended south ridge.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Phew….lots. In broad terms, many large to very large avalanches near and above treeline on the north half of the compass (many of these avalanches will be documented in another ob tomorrow). Only spotted a single avalanche below treeline on east slope near Purple Palace.
Weather: Clear skies with cold temperatures at valley bottom, but pleasant temps in the 20s near treeline. Light WSW winds with moderate gusts. Observed some continued snow transport around the range.
Snowpack: I largely snowmobiled around checking on snow depths. In the lower reaches of Washington Gulch I found around 175cm and near treeline on Baldy 260cm. I dug a single, deep profile near treeline on a southeast slope that was bare dirt prior to December. Test results indicated reasonable bonding between Santa Storm and the early December snow although the overlying slab is harder than the snow at the ground. There was no melt/freeze crust present in this profile location.

Photos:

5199

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: Zach Guy

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Slate River to Mt. Richmond to check out a deep slab crown.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: 2 large wind slabs that looked fresh, likely ran sometime over the weekend, along with a number of small ones. Got good views of some of the previously documented slides on Schuykill and in Baxter, along with a few that ran during the storm that we haven’t noted yet. The debris piles below Schuykill Ridge are impressive, and they knocked over several mature trees. The slides off of Richmond and/or Bichmond also knocked over a handful of mature trees.
Weather: Cold, clear, a few short-lived moments of light snow transport from southwest winds.
Snowpack: No signs of instability underfoot or machine on a mix of steep and low angle slopes. Small grained surface hoar is growing at low elevations.
I looked at the crown on the northeast face of Richmond. The crown ranged from 8 to 12 feet thick. It was pencil hard where I could reach it. It failed on a weak layer of 1.5 to 2.0 mm rounding facets (4F+), which was about 40 to 70 cm off of the ground. There was about a foot of snow on the bed surface so it must have run on 12/31.

Photos:

5198

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: Travis Colbert

Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Kebler TH up the west ridge of Elk Basin to Scarp Ridge down the east ridge to Copely Lake and back down the lower east ridge. Mostly S, SE & SW terrain.

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Older D1 off the west ridge into Elk Basin (SE aspect) that ran a few hundered feet. Maybe remote trigger from a snowmobile (tracks in the basin) or natural? Also saw a crown on the east face of Owen (picture is bad) and crowns on the north side of Carbon (in the big cirque from the summit and the lower cirques).
Weather: Sunny. Very little wind. Cold.
Snowpack: No signs of instability. I was mostly on <30 degree slopes but dipped into some 32-34 degree along the way. The slab feels very deep. Ski pen 10-15 cm. Windboard above treeline, but dense powder everywhere else.

Photos:

5197

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: Cosmo L

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Cement Mtn. NW-N-NE 9200-12200′

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Cornice failure or small windslabs on N-NE terrain just below ridgetops. Didn’t seem like it stepped down into deeper layers, or maybe it happened early enough in storm to bury the evidence?
Weather: Clear and calm.
Snowpack: 60-130 cm. Deeper in some windloaded spots. Largely supportive. 6-8″ ski pen. A few lower elevation, northfacing spots with shallower snowpack have lost supportiveness over the last couple days. Got one collapse on low angle windloaded NW terrain @ treeline (big pillows behind tree fence on ridgtop). Lots of surface hoar on north facing terrain.

Photos:

5196

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: Zach Kinler

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Dog walk

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Previously unreported slide on the SE face of Avery with adjacent cornice fall. I also included a photo of the previously reported slide lower down on Gothic’s Spoon.
Weather: Bluebird, inversions are locked in tight with valley temps well below 0F.
Snowpack: Much deeper than a couple of weeks ago!

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5195

Date of Observation: 01/03/2022
Name: billy barr

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: Judd Falls TH

Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: The slide i heard when i was outside and saw that powder cloud was a good size one. It ran through it’s running zone, across the river depositing much of its snow just past the river and then crossed the road and reached and went past the Judd Falls trailhead outhouse. Picture attached. A lot of wind after that so the slide is not as clear looking.
Weather: Snowpack settled 10″ in 2 days. It was -22ºF yesterday but so far juust -9 this morning. Water in the current snowpack is 14.0 inches of water. billy

Photos:

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