Observation Date: 01/15/2019

Route/Location:
Up and down the SW face of Sheepshead. Skied the face. For suitors, note the choke at the bottom of the face above Ashley lake was not filled in, and we used crampons and an axe to downclimb about a hundered vertical feet.

Weather:

Wind:

New Snow: No New Snow

Avalanche Activity:
We saw recent point releases and just one old crown on the SW face of Sheepshead (presumably from rapid wind loading during the 1/6 storm). We did not get any collapsing all day, but we were on solar aspects.

We dug a pit to 100cm at 8,300 feet on the upper SW face of the mountain to do a spot stability check. Results were ECT5N at 5cm (recent wind crust), and two ECTN layers failing at hard shoulder taps failing around 30 and 60 cm. We felt quite comfortable skiing the face, but would have wanted to re-assess on shaded aspects.

Surface hoar growth was limited above the inversion, which reached as high as 5,500 feet.

Other Comments:

Observer: Brian STORY