| Subject | Remote triggered wind slabs |
|---|---|
| Date | 11/10/2021 |
| Forecast Zone | Northwest Mountains |
| Route Description | Traveled on east and northeast aspects of Mt. Baldy to 12,000 ft. |
| Did you see any avalanches? | Yes |
| Avalanches | A handful of natural activity ran during last night's snowfall, mostly small, with one longer running D2. We remotely triggered a couple of small pockets of wind slab from about 30 feet away, and remotely triggered larger wind slab that was about 50 feet wide and ran about 600 feet over rocks. |
| Weather | Light snowfall. Light to moderate northwest winds with short periods of drifting snow. |
| Snowpack | 6" to 8" of new storm snow over a generally weak and faceted snowpack (.5 - 1.5mm facets) mixed with a few crusts on more easterly aspects. Fresh drifts up to 2 feet thick. We noted consistent collapsing and shooting cracks up to 50 feet on every wind loaded feature, along with some shooting cracks where winds have stiffened the snow surface. These all appeared to be failing on the storm interface. In wind-protected areas, we noted only minor cracking. Stability test in a wind-sheltered slope showed no propagation. |
| Photo Gallery | |
| Detailed Avalanche Observations | |
| Estimated avalanche date | 11/10/2021 |
| Number of avalanches | 1 |
| Location | Mount Baldy |
| Start zone elevation | ATL: Above Tree Line |
| Aspect | E |
| Trigger | Skier |
| Trigger modifier | Remote |
| Type | Soft Slab |
| Failure plane | New/Old interface |
| Relative Size | R1 very small |
| Destructive Size | D1.5 |
| Avg. crown size (inches) | 12 |
| Avg. width (feet) | 50 |
| Avg. Vertical run (feet) | 600 |
| Detailed Avalanche Observations | |
| Estimated avalanche date | 11/10/2021 |
| Number of avalanches | 2 |
| Location | Mount Baldy |
| Start zone elevation | NTL: Near Tree Line |
| Aspect | NE |
| Trigger | Skier |
| Trigger modifier | Remote |
| Type | Soft Slab |
| Failure plane | New/Old interface |
| Relative Size | R1 very small |
| Destructive Size | D1- Relatively harmless to people |
| Avg. crown size (inches) | 8 |
| Avg. width (feet) | 15 |
| Avg. Vertical run (feet) | 300 |
| Detailed Avalanche Observations | |
| Estimated avalanche date | 11/10/2021 |
| Number of avalanches | 1 |
| Location | Mount Baldy |
| Start zone elevation | ATL: Above Tree Line |
| Aspect | NE |
| Trigger | Natural |
| Type | Unknown |
| Failure plane | Unknown |
| Relative Size | R2 small |
| Destructive Size | D2 - could bury, injure, or kill a person |
| Avg. Vertical run (feet) | 1300 |
| Detailed Avalanche Observations | |
| Estimated avalanche date | 11/10/2021 |
| Number of avalanches | 3 |
| Location | Mount Baldy |
| Start zone elevation | ATL: Above Tree Line |
| Aspect | NE |
| Trigger | Natural |
| Type | Unknown |
| Failure plane | Unknown |
| Relative Size | R1 very small |
| Destructive Size | D1- Relatively harmless to people |
| Avg. Vertical run (feet) | 400 |
| Detailed Avalanche Observations |