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Surprising Solar
Location Name:
Canyon Creek. North of WMR
Observation date:
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 - 17:00
Is this an Avalanche Observation:
Yes
Observation made by:
Public
Tabs
Quick Observation
Touring around the backcountry northeast of Big Mountain
Unexpected sunny skies in the Whitefish Range today
Some surface hoar observed above 6500' in open terrain
Triggered a relatively small (D1, R1) wet loose avalanche around 1:00pm in a steep rocky area on a run known as Tin Man (6895').
Slide initiated at approximatley 6360' and traveled about 150 feet downhill. South facing 40-degrees at trigger point. Seemed confined to the the most recent storm layer (~4 inches).
Some natural roller ball and wet loose activity observed around 2:00pm in the Skook Chutes.
Mostly sunny skies all day (snowed lightly for about 15 minutes around 2:00pm), and very calm winds all day as well. 0-5mph winds on top of Dorothy's and Tin Man (Between 11:30am and 1:00pm).
Expecting a new sun crust layer to be present as of this evening on Southeast through West Facing aspects.
Travel Details
Region:
Whitefish Range - Southern (south of Coal Creek)
Route Description:
Dorothy's, Tin Man, and Skooks
Activity:
Snowboarding
Snowpack Details
Snowpack and Weather Details:
Terrain
Elevation of observation:
5000-6500 ft
Above 6500 ft
Aspect(s) of observation:
NE
E
SE
S
SW
Red Flags:
Rapid or prolonged warming
Rollerballs / pinwheels
Persistent Weak Layers:
Surface Hoar
On the surface
New Snow in the past 24 hours:
4.00in.
Blowing Snow:
None
Wind Speed:
Calm (No air motion)
Wind Direction:
North
Air temperature:
Below Freezing
Sky Cover:
Mostly Clear (FEW)
Highest Precipitation Rate:
Very Light Snowfall (S-1)
Avalanche Details
Avalanche Details:
Date and Time of Avalanche:
Wednesday, February 20, 2019 - 13:00
Avalanche Type:
Wet Loose
Failure Plane/Weak Layer:
Within storm snow
Trigger
Trigger:
snowboarder
Trigger Modifier:
Accidentally Triggered
Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle:
40
Aspect:
South
Starting Elevation:
6360'
Size
Destructive Size:
D1 Relatively harmless to people.
Relative Size:
R1 Very Small
Crown Height:
Less than 1 ft
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run):
150ft.
Avalanche Width (Average width):
25ft.
People Involved
Number of people caught:
0
Number of partial burials:
0
Number of full burials:
0
Avalanche Location:
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