It's up and over for us today

Location Name: 
Mount Brown - GNP
Observation date: 
Thursday, December 3, 2020 - 10:15

Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Public

Tabs

Quick Observation

Spent the day climbing on Mount Brown with fantastic weather - clear skies once above the valley fog around 4000-4500' (photo) and very little wind.

  • Saw multiple wet loose slides on mid-upper elevation sunny aspects such as the south basin of Mt Brown (photo) and on Mt. Cannon. Thinking these ran yesterday afternoon.
  • The snow surface in the sun at 8500' was wet and there were even tiny seeps of liquid water on the rocks. 
  • Otherwise stuck to the shady aspects and noted a weakening snowpack that was faceting all around with widespread surface hoar development.
  • Spent much of the day cutting through the various generations of old wind slabs and these were completely unreactive with no cracking.
  • Encountered several-days (week?) old avalanche debris at 4500' (D2.5) on NW aspect. This was the result of a slab that failed in an upper basin around 6700'. The crown was mostly filled back in, but appeared to be at least a foot thick (photo) and maybe 200-300 feet wide.
  • Also noted multiple several-days old, dry loose snow and slab avalanches (D1-D2) on N-NE aspects including debris down to 4200' below the Little Matterhorn near the head of Avalanche Lake. Also observed what appeared to be old crowns on the north face of Mt. Edwards.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Glacier National Park - McDonald Lake Area
Route Description: 

Ascended NW face above McDonald Creek and descended NE face to Avalanche Lake.

Activity: 
Climbing or Mountaineering
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
N
NE
E
SE
S
SW
W
NW
Red Flags: 
Rollerballs / pinwheels
Persistent Weak Layers: 
Surface Hoar
Facets or Faceted Crust
On the surface
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
0.00in.
Wind Speed: 
Light (Twigs in motion)
Wind Direction: 
West
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Sky Cover: 
Clear (CLR)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Friday, November 27, 2020 - 12:00
Number of avalanches: 
1
Avalanche Type: 
Soft Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Date/time is uncertain, but was at least several days old.

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Aspect: 
Northwest
Starting Elevation: 
6700
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2.5
Relative Size: 
R3 Medium
Crown Height: 
1 ft
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
2200ft.
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
250ft.
Avalanche Location: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Wednesday, December 2, 2020 - 13:00
Number of avalanches: 
4
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Aspect: 
South
Starting Elevation: 
above-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1.5
Relative Size: 
R1 Very Small
Avalanche Location: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Friday, November 27, 2020 - 12:00
Avalanche Type: 
Unknown
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Unknown
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

Date/time is an uncertain estimate. Only obs debris so unknown if a slab or loose.

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Aspect: 
North
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R1 Very Small
Avalanche Location: