Pro Field Report

Basic Information

Observation Date:

January 15, 2023

Submitted:

January 16, 2023

Observer:

SAC - VandenBos (off duty)

Zone or Region:

Galena Summit and Eastern Mtns

Location:

central Boulders (6,900-11,000', primarily S-SW-W-NW-N)

Recent Avalanches?

None Observed

Cracking?

Isolated

Collapsing?

Isolated

I experienced isolated cracking and collapsing in fresh wind drifts. I did not see any cracks that traveled more than about 5m from my skis.

Stability Rating:

Fair

Confidence in Rating:

Moderate

Stability Trend:

Steady

Advanced Information

Cloud Cover:

Mostly Cloudy

Wind:

Moderate , NW

Variable sky cover, less cloudy than forecast. Periods of sun and clouds in the Boulders, with generally more sun than clouds. Peaks spent more time in the clouds. Moderate winds blowing out of the NW

Avalanche Observation Comments:

I spent a while glassing and I did not see any obvious new slab avalanches

My primary objective was to spend a bit of time looking at 1/5 in the Boulders, particularly looking for presence/absence of surface hoar. I dug 3 pits (WNW @ 7100', WNW @ 7900', and S @ 8000'). I was only looking at the upper few feet of the snowpack. In my first two pits I did not find obvious weak layers in the upper snowpack. In my third pit (HS=100cm) I found several weak layers associated with crusts in the snowpack. These produced propagating ECT results on several interfaces. 1/5 was down 30cm, presented as a 1-1.5cm thick MFcr+FC combo and produced ECTP4, 5, and 8. Another, thicker crust with facets on either side down 55-60cm produced ECTP13, 16, and ECTN 15. I'm wary of thin snowpacks with crusts that are capped by slabs.