Slides, Slides, Everywhere a slide

Location Name: 
Professional Observation - Rescue Creek
Observation date: 
Thursday, March 24, 2022 - 16:45
Is this an Avalanche Observation: 
Yes
Observation made by: Professional Observer

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Quick Observation

We traveled up through Rescue Creek to look at avalanche activity due to the significant warming over the past few days. What we found... 

  • Multiple D1 to D2 wet loose slides and roller balls were observed on all aspects and mostly initiated at mid-elevations.  
  • We noticed cornice deterioration but did not observe any wet loose avalanches initiating from cornice fall. 
  • The snowpack was mainly isothermal, excluding the 15 cm AR rain crust that persists about 50 cm below the snowpack surface. Pooling at the rain crust interface was observed and should be considered a potential point of failure.
  • To our surprise, the snow surface had up to half an inch crust, making for some fast travel early in the day and challenging skiing later on.

 

Snowpack, Avalanche, Weather Images: 
Travel Details
Region: 
Flathead Range - Middle Fork Corridor
Route Description: 

We traveled up through the Rescue Creek drainage to the lookout at about 5000 ft. From there we continued to travel up through the terrain to different lookout points observing avalanches through the mountain scape. 

Activity: 
Skiing
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details: 
Hide Terrain
Elevation of observation: 
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation: 
N
NE
E
SE
S
Red Flags: 
Avalanches from the past 2 days
Rain on snow
Rapid or prolonged warming
Rollerballs / pinwheels
New Snow in the past 24 hours: 
0.00in.
More comments about the snowpack and weather: 
We dug a pit to see what the snowpack looked like to the ground. The overnight surface snow did not freeze until early morning. Pit S aspect @~ 5300 feet. Early March crust is 15cm thick and ~50cm deep. Melt freeze rounds until the buried crust. Crust seems to be deteriorating, water pooling on the upper surface of the crust and is wet below. The snowpack as a whole appears almost isothermal. Wet loose initiated off the weight of a skier on steeper S slope, broke and ran the width of the skis.
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Snow line: 
7000 ft ? ( snow at Marias pass)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - 02:00
Number of avalanches: 
10
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Trigger Modifier: 
Remotely Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
40
Aspect: 
Southeast
Starting Elevation: 
near-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R3 Medium
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
1000ft.
Hide People Involved
Number of people caught: 
0
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
Avalanche Location: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - 12:30
Number of avalanches: 
8
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Within storm snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
40
Aspect: 
North
Starting Elevation: 
6000 - 7000
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D1.5
Relative Size: 
R2 Small
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
500ft.
Avalanche Location: 
Date and Time of Avalanche: 
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 - 12:30
Number of avalanches: 
1
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Within storm snow
More information or comments about the avalanche: 

This slide may be a D3, but I viewed it from a distance and did not want to overestimate it.

Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
natural
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
35
Aspect: 
Southeast
Starting Elevation: 
6500
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2.5
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
1000ft.
Avalanche Location: