Loose wet and storm slab avalanches

Toured into central GNP one last day before wrapping up forecasting operations for the season.

• We found 6” to 12+" of new snow over the past 48 hours
• Storm snow had consolidated and stiffened significantly compared to our tour yesterday in GNP
• Wet snow was observed up to 4500' and slushy below the surface
• Found increasingly deeper snow depths once we passed 5000' and new snow transitioned from moist to dry when approaching 6000'
• Winds were light with moderate gusts along upper elevation ridgelines
• While skiing, we observed numerous natural loose wet avalanches (D1-1.5) initiating in steep, rocky terrain at mid elevations and running long distances while entraining a lot of snow
  • Warm temps without direct sunshine appeared to initiate the loose wet cycle on west and northwest slopes
• We skier triggered several shallow storm slabs in steeper terrain that ran long distances on buried rain crusts, up to D2 in size.
  • approx. 8-12" thick at crowns​