December 16-17

Bowman, Yellow Jacket, Alexander Basin and Porter Fork

Elevations, slope angles and aspects

6200-10400', angles over 35°, all aspects

Snow conditions

Storm total was 12-16" in the areas traveled through. Total depth 18-24".

Surface hoar

surface-hoar

appears and disappears with daytime heating-nightime cooling. Sun exposed aspects follow the same pattern, crust-no crust.

Localized cracking and collapsing continues.

Northwest facing aspects have seen repeated scouring from the recent west winds and have variable wind crusting

Avalanche activity

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Lower Yellow Jacket ridge and point above Bowman trail.

yellow-jacket

Upper bowl remains in place.

Pole canyon, slide on the shoulder above the main gully.

baker-spring

Cabin run remains in place with significant scouring.

Toots to Boot, middle.

toboot

Right and left sides remain as does Toots Sweet.

Middle bowl, Alexander Basin. Most has slid with the force sympathetically triggering the lower breakovers in the middle of Alexander Basin meadows.

East chute and upper east facing Alexander Basin. The main bowl remains.

A pocket on the northwest facing shoulder of Wilson peak.

funneling

Debris pile is taller than it is wide.

Paradise

paradise

Some evidence of slides on the northeast-east facing upper bowl but, none off the main entry.

The exit

runout

has these interesting little slides scattered over the hill side and in the main gully.

The list goes on.

train-trap

Weather

Overcast to partly cloudy. A skiff of new snow here and there. Winds were light, temperatures, mild.

Evaluation

Although the new snow has settled, continued collapsing indicates continued instability. Many of the upper starting zones have not slid while little slides litter run outs and slopes well off the ridge.

Eventually the tension will ease, slopes will stabilize and we'll be waiting for the next load and avalanche cycle.

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December 16-17 journal

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