January 7
Location:
Bowman trail, Pole canyon and Alexander Basin
Elevations, slope angles and aspects:
6300-10’000’, angles to 40°, north, west, northeast and east.
Avalanche activity:
Middle bowl in Alexander- all of the east and southeast facing northern end, chutes slid out individually. East chute in Alexander-new snow soft slab running into the flats. Upper Alexander-clif area just north of the ridge. New snow shallow fracture running over the cliff band triggered a deeper slide into old snow layering. 60-80’wide 800’vertical, some blocks in debri pile.
Slopes skied:
Middle chute in Middle bowl Alexander northeast facing down the rolls to the flat. Alexander Basin from the ridge.
Snow surface and conditions:
Much of the northwest facing upper elevation snow was hammered by wind. Gobblers Knob,
the Cabin run
and the northwest facing offa Wilson peak all had significant scouring. West facing aspens didn’t get hit hard and those had 4-6” over a mostly firm crusted base. The northeast and east facing had little wind damage, with similar conditions. Mid and lower elevation Alexander had some variable scouring and drifting, with scoured down to the rime crust in places. Lower elevation exit remains supportable.
Weather:
Partly cloudy with cool temperatures. Gusty west northwest winds10-20 mph were moving some snow along the upper elevation ridgelines.
Evaluation:
Snow settled quickly after the windstorm partially because most of the available paths ran in some manner. There was a place or two worth avoiding but not many. I’d consider the snow mostly stable except for areas receiving the continued wind and associated drifting today