Pro Field Report

Basic Information

Observation Details

Observation Date:
April 13, 2023
Submitted:
April 14, 2023
Observer:
SAC - Jon Preuss (off duty)
Zone or Region:
Galena Summit and Eastern Mtns
Location:
Camp Creek (S-SE-SW)

Signs of Unstable Snow

Recent Avalanches? 
None Observed
Cracking? 
None Experienced
Collapsing? 
None Experienced

Bottom Line

A solid overnight freeze locked up the upper snowpack. The morning snowstorm provided some nice light-density snow for some "dust on crust." The lower snowpack on mid-elevation souths was damp but healing up after the heat wave.

Advanced Information

Weather Summary

Cloud Cover:
Overcast
Wind:
Moderate , NW
New/Recent Snowfall:
HN: 10 cm

A trace of snow was on the ground when we arrived at 0600 hr. Snow continued until mid-day, with the heaviest rates falling in the morning.

Snowpack Observations

We dug one snowpit on a south-facing slope at 8800'. The upper ~30 cm was locked up from the overnight freeze with a rough surface crust and light-density snow on top. The lower snowpack was still damp and didn't freeze up, but it was unlikely to impact those layers. ECTN14 in the upper crusts and ECTX on the mid-March weak layers.

Avalanche Problems

We didn't observe any avalanche problems.

Terrain Use

We stuck to low-angle souths for skiability reasons of trying to reduce the dust on crust feel.