April 23
Area:
White Pine-Red Baldy
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
7500’-11200’, angles to 40°, northerly aspects.
Avalanche activity:
Naturals in upper elevations on Red Baldy and Lake peak. Mostly sluffing of the recent new snow. Several shallow crowns were observed and several of the slides ran 4-500’vertical. Widespread rollers at both mid and upper elevations from a short period of partial sun and green housing. The rollers were occurring to 11000’. Snow at lower elevations produced some good-sized pin wheeling with ski cuts on the late afternoon exit.
Slopes skied:
Red Baldy
Snow surface and conditions:
Two or three inches of very damp snow was found at the trailhead about 1:30 pm. That snow increased in depth to about 6” with elevation gain drying out but still quite dense. Instability showers during the afternoon added about an inch of dense snow. Green housing quickly settled the new snow and produced widespread rollers.
Weather:
Overcast with light snowfall for several hours in the afternoon. Winds were from the west and less than 10 mph, increasing along the 11000’ ridgeline. Mild temperatures.
Evaluation:
I found up to about 16” recent snow overlying the crust from last week. The snow is for the most part well bonded. Natural activity during the storm has settled out. The primary concern would be wet activity on all aspects, north facing included, with any significant period of sun and or daytime heating.
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