11 March 2010 8:00am
PRIMARY CONCERN: TRAVEL ADVISORY: SNOWPACK STABILITY RATING: FAIRSNOWPACK STABILITY TREND: AVALANCHE OBSERVATIONS: Yesterday on a north aspect at Thompson Pass Mile 33 skiers 1000' above the highway triggered a size 3 on the deeply buried persistant surface hoar / facet / crust layer. The crown fracture was 1/2 mile wide and 7 feet deep. The avalanche caught some of the skiers/riders and deposited up to 15' of snow over 1200' of highway. This slope had been shot by DOT Monday. Large natural and DOT artillery triggered avalanches to size 3.5 Monday-Tuesday. Some paths in the continental and inter-mountain snowpack zones ran larger than they have for a number of decades.SNOWPACK DISCUSSION: WEAK LAYERS TO WATCH: 1) Weaknesses within the storm snow. WEATHER FORECAST: Valdez NWS: Cloudy with flurries. MORE DATA NEEDED TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: 1) What is the strength and distribution of the deeply buried facets and surface hoar? | Danger Rating:
CONSIDERABLE
The past two weeks: Snowpack Conditions Thompson Pass The winter history: Thompson Pass data (PNG - open as PDF) ____________________ Snowpack Profiles 100227 Nick's 1067m
100225 Worthington 100224 Catcher's Mitt 100213 Loveland 4000' 100201 27 Mile 1372m 100119 Nick's 1000m 100105 Vertigo 1410m 100104 Vertigo 825m 100103 Odyssey 850m 100102 Vertigo 1100m 100102 Vertigo 1000m 100101 Vertigo 1200m 091231 Thompson Pass 091230 Loveland 1635m 091230 Vertigo 930m 091228 Vertigo 1000m 091228 Vertigo 675m 091226 Vertigo 675m 091221 Valdez 250m 091207 27-Mile 091206 Loveland 091205 Python 1280m 091129 Nicks Map of Thompson Pass Ski Runs |
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