Observation Date: 04/20/2014

Route/Location:
Gash Point, headed for Sky Pilot

Weather:
Mostly Sunny, pc in the morning

Wind:
20-30mph on the ridge tops

New Snow: No New Snow

Snow Density:

Avalanche Activity:
Observed a large crown on southeast face of Ranger peak, impossible to say how big because of distance but it was large, I would guess in the 2.5-3 range. It is visible if you look closely at the uploaded picture, just below the peak to lookers left.

Observed Danger Rating:

Other Comments:
We climbed to Gash Point proper with the intention of making our way to Sky Pilot. At the top of Gash Point we dug a pit on a relatively mild slope, ~25 degrees, on a north/northeast aspect, similar to the face of Sky Pilot we were hoping to climb and ski. It didn’t take long to notice the obvious layer buried approximately 10-12″ deep. We suspected this was the crust that formed a week or two ago which had now been covered by the storm snow from earlier this week. In a column test we were able to cause the column to fail with 5 or so taps at the wrist, and never more than 1 from the elbow.

Normally I would have proceeded to an ECT but it didn’t seem necessary. Given the exposure on the Sky Pilot approach and ski, and the evidence of other slide activity on Ranger, despite the different aspect, we had enough information to make the call to bail on our plan.

The corn on Gash made for good, fun, and safe skiing. Sky Pilot can wait.

Observer: Stephen Hodgdon