Professional Observation
Basic Information
Observation Details
Observation Date:
April 4, 2022Submitted:
April 4, 2022Observer:
WCMAC - Trask BaughmanZone or Region:
Seeley SwanLocation:
East side of the Missions near Lake ElsinaSigns of Unstable Snow
Recent Avalanches?
YesCracking?
None ExperiencedCollapsing?
None ExperiencedSnow Stability
Stability Rating:
GoodConfidence in Rating:
HighStability Trend:
WorseningBottom Line
Today we rode sleds in the Seeley Lake area to the east side of the Missions near Lake Elsina. There was very little snow below 5500ft, and we had to ride on several sections of open dirt road.
Above the warming hut at 6200ft, we encountered strong winds and rapidly loading east-facing slopes out of the west. In our compression tests, we had a sudden planer break 5 inches (13cm) down in snow density change and a sudden break 15 inches (37cm) down above the melt-freeze on near-surface facets. We had no propagation in are extended column test, but the sudden planar test results point towards the need for cation as we receive more snow in the next 48 hours.
Other observations:
• At the warming hut at 5700 feet there was 5 ½ inches (14cm) of new snow.
• Small loose wet avalanches around 5500 feet
Media
Advanced Information
Weather Summary
Cloud Cover:
OvercastWind:
Strong , WIt was raining up to 5,000 feet. Strong westerly winds were blowing and drifting snow at 6,200 feet. It was snowing up to an inch an hour (S2) after 1 pm.
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