Observation Date: 03/30/2017

Route/Location:
I ascended the SE ridge of East St. Marys to the summit, skiing beside my track on the way down.

Weather:
Cloudy with the occasional sunburst, interspersed with snow showers. Visibility was in and out, sometimes limited to 5 feet- ya gotta love spring!

Wind:
Wind was blowing moderately out of the W/ NW near 10-15 mph, new snow was not light enough to be available for transport. Cornices were large and overhanging the East side of the ridge all the way up.

New Snow: 0-3″

Avalanche Activity:
I noted a couple of recent wet loose avalanches, both occurring on near identical aspect and elevation – S /SE near 7000′- in bowl climbers right of SE ridge, and on the next ridge West directly below East St Mary’s. Both of these slides look to have started from rocks warming in the sun, and sliding on a firm crust layer ~10″ below the surface.

In the alpine I noted larger and deeper wind slabs – closer to 18″ deep, isolated to lee ward side of the ridge. Near the top of East St. Marys, I noted a 4″ wind slab on the upper reaches of the E face.

Other Comments:

Observer: Ned Gall