Fried Chicken

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - WMR Sidecountry
Observation date: 
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - 20:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Quick Observation

Toured east of WMR to check out how the snowpack has developed after the last 11 days of snow and wind. We found:

  • Few signs of instability, except one sluff that stayed on the surface and a few short cracks around our skis. Stomping on steep test slopes produced no cracking.
  • Up to  90 cm of recent snow that is right-side up (progressively harder with depth) with few distinct sliding planes or interfaces. 
  • Above about 6000 feet, this recent snow sits on a 10-15 inch thick layer of hard, refrozen snow. 
  • Little sign of recent wind drifting or wind loading on treed ridges and nearby openings.
  • Around 5800 feet on a sunny slope, the refrozen snow near the ground was less than 6 inches thick and soft. This was the weakest snow we saw, though it is generally on well-anchored slopes.

We experienced snow showers until early afternoon, with improved visibility after that. Winds were calm to light. 

With no evidence of unstable snow or hazardous slabs, we felt comfortable skiing a slope of 30-35* with a steeper, convex roll at the bottom.

 

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Whitefish Range - Southern (south of Coal Creek)
Route Description: 

5650-6650 feet.

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
E
SE
S
SW
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Not observed
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
7.00in.
Total Snow Depth: 
120 cm
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
Obscured skies going to overcast. Snow showers, heavy (S2) at times. no blowing snow. SNow profile tests produced few sudden results,mostly at event intefaces.
Blowing Snow: 
None
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Snow line: 
valley
Sky Cover: 
Overcast (OVC)
Highest Precipitation Rate: 
Moderate Snowfall (S2)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 - 12:15
Number of avalanches: 
2
Avalanche Type: 
Loose Dry/ Sluff
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Within storm snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Triggered by stomping on steep knob. Ran relatively fast but stayed on surface. 

WMR Patrol reporting a similar slide at the top of Haskill slide, though at lower elevation.

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
skier
Trigger Modifier: 
Intentionally Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
40
Aspect: 
East
Starting Elevation: 
6400
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1 Relatively harmless to people.
Relative Size: 
R1 Very Small
Crown Height: 
Less than 1 ft
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
70ft.
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
7ft.
Hide People Involved
Number of people caught: 
0
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
Avalanche Location: