Snow Observations List

Went out to check on surface conditions and dig on different aspects around Bradley's meadow. 

Found variable breakable crust in many places but dry snow on northerly and non breakable crust on some southerly. Did not see anymore recent avalanches, many old D1 sized wet loose slides near rocks/cliffs.

Dug on a N slope at 7600' found 125-145 cm HS with the bottom 40cm being a mix of fist hardness facets and depth hoar, ECTP20 on the top of that layer. 

Dug on a Solar aspect at 7800' found 90cmHS and multiple melt freeze crusts, with perc columns and water pooling down to below last week's snow ( around 45cm down). The structure is similar to the north aspect with the bottom of the snowpack holding 20cm + faceted snow, though it was definitely damp today and rounding! 

Went out to check on surface conditions and dig on different aspects around Bradley's meadow. 

Found variable breakable crust in many places but dry snow on northerly and non breakable crust on some southerly. Did not see anymore recent avalanches, many old D1 sized wet loose slides near rocks/cliffs.

Dug on a N slope at 7600' found 125-145 cm HS with the bottom 40cm being a mix of fist hardness facets and depth hoar, ECTP20 on the top of that layer. 

Dug on a Solar aspect at 7800' found 90cmHS and multiple melt freeze crusts, with perc columns and water pooling down to below last week's snow ( around 45cm down). The structure is similar to the north aspect with the bottom of the snowpack holding 20cm + faceted snow, though it was definitely damp today and rounding! 

We rode through White Elephant and Yale Creek to the head of Hellroaring Creek. There was 8-10” of dense new snow. Poor visibility limited The avalanche viewing. 

As we reached the upper reaches of Yale, the snowpack was 250-280cm deep. When we dropped our probes to the base of the snowpack, we found weak snow toward the bottom. CTs and ECTNs in the single digits broke below the new snow on a layer of graupel. No other upper-level instabilities were noted. The depth of the weak layers at the base of the snowpack makes them difficult to trigger but any subsequent avalanche would be catastrophic. 

Large avalanche North face Mt Blackmore. Appeared to be potentially triggered by cornice fall from above. Crown propagated across majority of the bowl and was quite large in places. 

Large avalanche in Maid of the mist basin

Cornice fall triggered a big one. Looks to be real fresh. last night or this morning    Broke across the whole bowl and up to 8 feet deep maybe more right in the middle    Broken trees in the debris, And ran out of sight.  

Large(D2.5) natural avalanche on Naya Nuki Sacagawea headwall. 
looks to be a couple days old. Broke near the ridge and propagated far. Ran to near the end of the potential slide path

We ascended the north ramp of Trapper Ridge to the summit ridgeline. There were no signs of instability, and we did not see any recent avalanche activity in the nearby mountains of the Southern Madison Range or the Lionhead Ridge area. We dug a pit on a north-facing slope at 8600 feet elevation (ECTX and PST35/100end). The facets deep in the snowpack show no hardening trend, and they maintain their ability to propagate failure easily. Currently, it is simply a matter of the persistent weak layer having adjusted to the load they are supporting and being buried more deeply; thus, initiation of failure is more difficult. Large avalanches remain possible. The sun and warm temperatures affected the snow surface in the eastern and southern aspects (and I assume the western). A cool breeze kept any wet snow hazard from developing before we left at 2 PM. I suspect it did not develop today.

Of note, surface snow was weakening on northern aspects with a 3-4 cm layer of near surface facets and surface hoar. We will have to see how this behaves when it gets buried by new snow starting tomorrow.

We rode over Daisy Pass and out to the pass between Wolverine and Abundance. Low on Daisy Road along the steep creek walls we saw three recent 2'+ deep avalanches. each 70-100' wide. HS-R4-D2-O. One looked within the last day or two and the other two were maybe 3-4 days old. Triggers unknown, there were various ages of sled/snowbike tracks nearby. We saw older crowns (4-7 days old) on east and north Miller Mtn.

Between Miller and Wolverine there was a recent large avalanche that I would guess was triggered yesterday. 3-6' deep, 250-300' wide. HS-R4-D2.5-O. Video and photos attached. Given the recent human triggered and natural avalanches, we expect dangerous conditions will continue to start the week.

Partly sunny skies, light to moderate winds with some stronger gusts and snow transport at ridgelines. Snow surface had a thick crust on any slopes that were not fully shaded yesterday. Rode back to town at noon and snow surface was still mostly frozen. Cloud cover increased through the day.

Deep Avalanches all over the mountain in multiple spots. One was spread across the Ross Peak approach gully and debris ran all the way to the bottom of the gully.

A natural avalanche was witnessed on the north side of Republic Mtn. on 3/9 at 4:54pm. It appeared to break around 3 feet deep.

Pic 1:  E aspect, 8900'.

Pic. 2:  NE aspect, 9300'

Pic. 3: SE aspect, 9000'.

Pic. 4:  E aspect, 8800'.

Pic. 5:  SE aspect, 8800'

Pic. 6:  E aspect, 9100'.

Pic. 7:  E aspect, 8800'

Pic. 8:  N aspect, 9600'

Pic. 9:  E aspect, 9100'

Saw a couple avalanches today in the Woody Creek Cabin area 

First was in Woody Creek, right by the waterfall. D2, crown was up to 5 feet deep. NE facing 

The other was on the backside of High Hayden, in Pilot Creek. This one ran probably 1000 feet. SE facing 

Natural avalanche in Beehive Basin. On eastern aspect. (the same aspect as yesterday's "intentional cornice drop avalanche", 3/10th of a mile north) guessing the elevation is around 9,900-9,650ft.

From IG 3/9/24: "Currently on the throne. Things warmed up quickly this morning. Wet loose, east aspect, 8500’, 10:30"

From the ridge between Blackmore and Elephant we saw multiple natural large slab avalanches in the upper South Cotttonwood drainage. More natural avalanches not shown, mostly on northerly aspects. Appeared fairly recent and deep. Decided against skiing Alex Lowe and opted for good turns on Blackmore. Warm with moderate/strong southwest winds, minor transport.

Skied into Frazier basin today. Saw multiple wet loose slides on the SE face across the basin. Winds were stripping many ridge lines and loading N aspects. No avalanches related to wind loading were observed. Pit at the bottom of the basin on a SE aspect around 8200 feet had HS 185 and showed Ectx. 

We saw the slide happen.   Maybe 200 yards wide 4 to 10 ft deep crown.  Triggered by a guy riding along in the run out zone, he was partially buried and got himself out. One of the kids has some photos in this phone, we will try to send them shortly.

We rode to Round Lake and around the north and west side of Sheep, and back out through Round Lake. There was a big avalanche on the northeast side of Sheep that was previously not reported. It was there this morning so maybe happened yesterday. 6-8'+ deep, 500' wide R4-D3-O.

This morning we saw previous avalanches on Henderson Mtn. in better light and got a photo of one on the lower Henderson Bench. Showing wide propagation through thick trees.

Temps were warm under clear skies with calm wind. Snow surface was getting moist in the afternoon on sunny slopes.