Pro Field Report

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
December 24, 2021
Submitted:
December 24, 2021
Observer:
SAC - Scott Savage - OFF DUTY REC DAY
Zone or Region:
Galena Summit and Eastern Mtns
Location:
Galena Summit - Cross

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
Yes
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced
Avalanche past 48 hrs was Galena Peak avalanche (see below). No avalanches where we skied.

Bottom Line

Huge slide on Galena Peak's NW bowl (upper elevations where old snow existed and the wind blew in the past 48 hrs). No signs of instability on southerly middle elevations where we traveled. A tale of two cities so to speak...expect to find dramatic differences in danger/instability as you move up in elevation and to slopes that have old Oct snow at the base of the snowpack.

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Mostly Cloudy
Temperature:
teens F
Wind:
Light , W
New/Recent Snowfall:
14-18" (35-45cm) storm snow near 8700'.

Not much wind previously as the top of the Cross had little cornice growth (about a foot) and no wind slab to speak of beneath the ridge. Different story at upper elevations. The wind kicked up around 1500 hrs as we were leaving, lots of plumes and snow coming off trees in the Boulders and Smoky Mtns.

Avalanche Observations

 #  Date Location Size Type Bed Sfc Depth Trigger Photos Details
1 Dec 24, 2021
(+/- 1 day) 		Galena Peak - NW Bowl
W 10800ft 		D3.5 HS-Hard Slab O-Old Snow 4ft N-Natural
This very large avalanche released naturally on the NW face of Galena Peak, likely on Dec 23rd or early on Dec 24th.
Report
Galena Peak - NW Bowl
 #  Date Location Size Type Bed Sfc Depth Trigger Comments Photo
1 Galena Peak - NW Bowl
NW alpine 		D3.5 HS O-Old Snow 4 feet N-Natural Very large slide, over 1000' wide.
This very large avalanche released naturally on the NW face of Galena Peak, likely on Dec 23rd or early on Dec 24th.

Snowpack Observations

No formal pits, recreation day skiing powder. Lots of pole probes/tests showed a general lack of crust or weak layers immediately underneath the storm snow. Ski penetration was 20-30 cm, reasonable traveling uphill.

Terrain Use

We planned to avoid avalanche terrain, and we stuck with that plan. Lots of fun to be had in terrain less than 30* right now.