Public Observation

Observation Details

Signs of Unstable Snow

Observations

This afternoon a group of three of us toured NW of Pearl Lake. We planned to find a spot above the saddle for lap two to make for a longer run. As we hiked up the ridge, we became stoped by a few obstacles and steep terrain directly below. We then decided to pick our way down the ridge a bit to find some mellower terrain to ride. The top of the ridge was experiencing decent wind as snow continued to fall throughout the day. There was around 3” of new snow that had fallen since last night.

We decided on a spot that had an entrance of around 30-32 degrees which mellowed to the 20s as the finger ridge benched out towards the little next pitch beyond view. To the right of the entrance was a good safe zone about 30’ downhill. To the left of the finger ridge the slope steepened to mid 30 degrees. While we discussed the entrance and our preferred line, the slope to the left and slight higher then us gave way. The snow about 15’ in front of us released with the initial fracture and slide downhill. After the snow released it veered left of the finger ridge and ran downhill to a group of conifers approximately 250-300’. The slide path was roughly 30-50’ wide.

The weather was stormy. About 3” of new snow with plenty of wind. Visibility was quite low today. Temperature was around 20 this afternoon. The snow on our first run near the saddle was soft and skied well.