Wet avalanche debris near Avalanche Lake

Location Name: 
Forecaster Observation - Avalanche Lake, Glacier National Park
Region: 
Outside of the Advisory Area
Date and time of avalanche (best estimate if unknown): 
Wed, 11/22/2017 - 12:03
Location Map: 


Observation made by: Forecaster
Avalanche Observations
Avalanche Type: 
Wet
Trigger type: 
Natural
Aspect: 
North
Weak Layer: 
Old snow
Terrain: 
Above Treeline
Elevation: 
6 000ft.
Bed Surface: 
Old Snow
Avalanche Length: 
3 000ft.
Number of people caught: 
0
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
More detailed information about the avalanche: 

Evidence of numerous wet loose avalanches and a few of unknown character that ran during last week's rain event.  Most were D1 to D2 in size, one debris pile was D3.  Most appeared to gouge to the ground through a saturated snowpack on their way to the valley.  Viewed snowpack from the valley bottom.  The snowpack below 5,000 feet is nearly all gone from our recent warm-up/rain event.  Based on the behavior of wet loose avalanches, it appears that the entire snowpack was saturated by rainfall to at least 6,500 ft.  Continuous snow coverage exists in specific locations above 5,000 feet, generally wind protected or loaded bowls and gullies, especially on N to E aspects.   The snow is now refreezing into a thick and supportive crust; we saw no signs of avalanche concerns today. 

Avalanche Photos: 
Avalanche observation video: 

11/28/17. Avalanche debris at Avalanche Lake

Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
25% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Moderate (Small trees sway)
Precipitation: 
None
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Accumulation rate: 
None
Activity: 
Hiking