Weekly Recap: By Rob Millspaugh. Video by Clancy Nelson.
This week on As the World Terns:
These are certainly interesting times we live in. Schools are out, borders are closed, and Zach’s hoarding all the toilet paper. If that wasn’t enough, last weekend we had trees falling down all over the place, “reverso cornices” forming on ridge lines, and windslab on atypical slopes. The late season arctic intrusion arrived last Friday amidst impressive Northeast winds. By Saturday daytime temperatures had dropped to near zero. Unsurprisingly, the number of observations from that day was also near zero. However, this break apparently reinvigorated our backcountry community as Sunday yielded a whopping ten observations with most parties reporting recent D1-D2 activity. Observers also noted the variability of wind effect between basins due to localized channeling. This variability would have intriguing implications as temperatures climbed back above freezing during the work week. Loose wet activity was slow to initiate on wind hardened surfaces while less impacted slopes produced D1-D2 Loose Wet activity. Solar-initiated point releases and slab avalanches continued through St. Patties day while clear conditions promoted the growth of surface hoar in isolated areas throughout the Flathead Range. It appears our social distancing efforts have temporarily flattened the curve for Corniced 19/20. Stay healthy!
