Debris from C.B. Penrose Peak

The crackerjack local avalanche center spotted a slab avalanche triggered by a recent cornice fall on Mt Penrose. I traveled into Skiumah, pronounced SKY-yoo-MAH, for a closer look. BTW, this is a silly whitey word from the University of Minnesota and completely out of place in an NW MT wilderness,

• The February 20 or 21 avalanche left chunks of cornice and hard slab debris on the upper half of the runout above Skiumah Lake. It is difficult to determine the exact thickness of this recent debris, but it appears much thinner than the early February D3 debris it caps.
• Debris stopped well short of the lake and the runout of the early February slide. This previous slide removed substantial snow from the face which limited entrainment. 
• The runout zone has debris from 3 large avalanche events. Piles over 10' deep extend several hundred yards downslope and the complete width of the runout. Debris is now capped by recent snow and thin wind slabs. Caution: The numerous frozen chunks buried under the surface make the skiing "interesting".

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