The wetting front was dancing with the sand box

Date of Observation: 03/24/2022
Name: Eric Murrow Evan Ross

Zone: Southeast Mountains
Route Description: MT Emmons, NE-E, 9,000-10,600ft.

Observed avalanche activity: No
Avalanches:  I glassed terrain from the pavement around 5pm and only observed a single wet avalanche on a southeast, near treeline slope on Peeler Peak.  It looked close to large size and originated beneath a very rocky area.

Weather: Few clouds, warm temps, and breezily light wind.

Snowpack: We targeted 3 pits to check on the progress of the wetting front. These were east-facing sites, 1 below 30 degrees, and 2 above 30 degrees, right around 10.500ft. In all 3 locations, the wetting front was within 1 to 2cm of the February Sand Box. Some of that free water was being held up and pooling on crusts higher in the snowpack. A couple of ECTN and ECTX results, and 1 CTH result on the Sand Box. Those facets are still 2mm in size and 4f hard, under small-grained 1F snow.

We were surprised to see the free water having progressed so far in this snowpack. We were traveling through the area between 1 and 3pm, but the light breeze helped keep a very thin crust on the snow surface and create the initial impression that things were not heating up from afar.

By the time we were traveling on these easterly-facing slopes, they seemed to have passed their prime for a loose wet avalanche problem. By the time we were headed out after 3pm a few westerly-facing slopes looked primed for some form of a loose wet avalanche problem.  A low elevation southeast slope, around 9,000 feet, started to feel punchy and was close to a trap door isothermal mess at 4pm (snow depth around 90cm).

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