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Mt. Penrose obs
Location Name:
Forecaster Observation- Mt. Penrose
Observation date:
Friday, January 19, 2018 - 15:30
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
Yes
Observation made by:
Forecaster
Tabs
Quick Observation
Periods of blowing snow and some localized cracking underfoot. Otherwise no recent avalanches or signs of instability
Yesterday's rain crust reached up to ~6,000'. We found good stability below that line. Above that line, there was about 3" to 5" of dense new snow over sun crusts on southerly or near surface facets on northerly. Some minor cracking at this interface but couldn't produce anything significant. Despite periods of strong winds, we couldn't find any concerning drifts either.
There was some hard slab debris (D2.5 or D3?) at Skiumah Lake, and I could see an old crown on Mt. Penrose. This likely ran last week during the storm.
Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images:
Travel Details
Region:
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Route Description:
Mt Penrose to 7000'
Activity:
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
3500-5000 ft
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
N
NE
E
SE
Red Flags:
Blowing snow
Persistent Weak Layers:
Buried
New Snow in the past 24 hours:
4.00in.
More comments about the snowpack and weather:
I couldn't find any evidence of our most recent surface hoar layer preserved under the new snow or rain, up to 7000' on various aspects.
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details:
Date and Time of Avalanche:
Friday, January 12, 2018 - 20:30
Avalanche Type:
Hard Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer:
Unknown
More information or comments about the avalanche:
Trigger
Trigger:
natural
Terrain
Starting Elevation:
above-treeline
Size
Destructive Size:
D2.5
Avalanche Location:
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