January 27
Alexander-Wilson
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
6200-10'000', angles approaching 40°, all aspects except south.
Avalanche activity:
Several crowns were observed in the east chute area of upper Alexander Basin. Those appeared to be the result of cornice falls. 1'+ deep 20'+ wide, involving recent snow layering.
Working with photos, I discovered the southeast face of Gobblers slid during the wind loading.
The slide appears to be several hundred feet wide, running on the old sun crusted surface.
Cornice kicking in the middle bowl area released a large appliance sized chunk, which produced a shallow fracture, the width of the dropped cornice. Sluffing in wind sheltered north facing on a slope approaching 40°. There were also numerous rollers on shady slopes below 8000' from warming.
Slopes skied:
Northeast facing Alexander middle bowl, Wilson glade from the summit and Bonus bowl, east of Wilson glade.
Snow conditions:
A little surface hoar was lingering at lower elevations.
It was melting and bonding in the mild temperatures. Winds were adding yet another layer
to the growing cornice lines on east facing aspects above about 8500'. Northwest and west facing were scoured down to early season snow or the ground, in places.Wind sheltered had the 4-6" of recent snow over soft old surfaces. A little near surface faceting was observed. Daytime heating made the snow below about 8000' damp and sticky.
Weather:
Overcast, with snow flurries early in the day. Partial clearing in the afternoon Winds at all elevations, gusting into the 30 mph range along the upper Gobblers ridge line. Mild temperatures.
Evaluation:
Strong winds were loading lee aspects, with natural activity observed. Mild temperatures were likely sublimating much of the wind blown snow, leaving shallow slabs. There are areas with faceted snow, both under wind drifts and on the surface. Continued loading from the forecasted wind, combined with a predicted heavy snow fall, will produce natural activity. Extent would be dependent on the amount of load.
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