Pro Field Report
Basic Information
Observation Details
Observation Date:
March 25, 2023Submitted:
March 25, 2023Observer:
SAC - Jon PreussZone or Region:
Soldier and Wood River Valley MtnsLocation:
Elk Ridge (All aspects; 5700-8500')Signs of Unstable Snow
Recent Avalanches?
None ObservedCracking?
IsolatedCollapsing?
None ExperiencedMedia/Attachments
Advanced Information
Weather Summary
Cloud Cover:
Mostly SunnyWind:
Moderate , NWNew/Recent Snowfall:
No new snow during the day.Some clouds clung to the Soldier Mtn crest until they moved out mid-day. The skies were mostly sunny in the Soldier Mtns with weather systems to the southwest and northeast. It was a donut hole where I was today. Cloud cover finally moved in after 1600 hr. Winds were moderate through most of the day with only minor drifting.
Avalanche Observations
| # | Date | Location | Size | Type | Bed Sfc | Depth | Trigger | Photos | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Mar 25, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
Basalt Creek NW 6800ft |
D2 | U-Unknown |
|
Report | |||
| 1 |
Mar 22, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
Five Points Creek E 6200ft |
D2 | N-Natural |
|
Report | |||
| 1 |
Mar 14, 2023 (+/- 1 week) |
Bridge Creek NE 6500ft |
D2 | N-Natural |
|
Report | |||
| 1 |
Mar 23, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
Second Peak NE 8400ft |
D2 | N-Natural |
|
Report | |||
| 1 |
Mar 14, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
Owens Creek W 7900ft |
D2.5 | N-Natural |
|
Report | |||
| 2 |
Mar 14, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
South Fork Soldier Creek SE 8400ft |
D2 | SS-Soft Slab | N-Natural |
|
Report | ||
| 1 |
Mar 14, 2023 (+/- 3 days) |
Owens Creek W 7800ft |
D3 | WS-Wet Slab | N-Natural |
|
Report |
Snowpack Observations
The structure on a SE facing pit at 8,000' looked the worse out of the three locations I dug in today. A series of melt-freeze crusts and facets make up the top 25 cm. These will likely become an issue with the next significant loading event. A layer of facets down 70 cm produced ECTP28, 29 results. The facets actually had small percolation tubes running through it, but was still able to propagate. I would imagine this layer healing quickly with this makeup.
An east facing snow pit at 7,600' had crust layers grouped together in 3 sections (upper, middle, and lower pack). The bottom ones looked the most concerning and propagated in an Extended Column test after non-standardized hits (31, 35) down 82 cm. The avalanche down the NE ridge of the Second Peak likely failed on this layer.
A NW facing pit at 8,000' in a sheltered location had a deep snowpack with a hefty 120 cm slab over the 2/18 layer of facets. This presented as a thin layer of 1 cm thick 1-2mm facets. Snow pit results were ECTX, DTN x2, CPST 30/120 (End).
All of the snow pits had 1-2 layers of graupel down 20 and 30-60 cm. No stability tests produced any results on this layer. A layer of dust was present in the beginning of the 1st storm in March.
Avalanche Problems
| Problem | Location | Distribution | Sensitivity | Size | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persistent Slab
|
|
Layer Depth/Date: 70-120cm |
No recent avalanches involving wind slabs were observed. The evidence of wind-effect was widespread. Most of the NW-W slopes were stripped down to denser snow and didn't have much fresh snow to move around. The south facing slopes have a dense crust (20 cm thick) on mid 20 degree slopes. I stomped on some loaded test slopes but couldn't get anything to budge. I did receive some minor cracking on a SE slope with a good fetch.
Terrain Use
Solo travel. I avoided avalanche terrain.