A group of snowmobilers captured an image of what we believe was a skier-triggered avalanche on Miller Mountain from 3/2. Photo: R. Stacy
From obs. "Around 4 or 5 pm today we rode out of Sheep Creek into the Miller Mountain area. When we looked at Miller there was a large avalanche that appeared to have occurred naturally (to our knowledge). It looked like the crown was 12-24'' and a few hundred feet wide. The debris looked fresh and must have occurred today. Given the depth we assumed it was windslab that had built up sometime in the last few days; however, hard to tell from so far away." Photo: R. Stacy
From obs. "Around 4 or 5 pm today we rode out of Sheep Creek into the Miller Mountain area. When we looked at Miller there was a large avalanche that appeared to have occurred naturally (to our knowledge). It looked like the crown was 12-24'' and a few hundred feet wide. The debris looked fresh and must have occurred today. Given the depth we assumed it was windslab that had built up sometime in the last few days; however, hard to tell from so far away." Photo: R. Stacy
On Buck Ridge today (3/5/23) we found fresh, unstable drifts. This fresh slab was 4-6" deep. Cracking like this is a sign that wind slabs will avalanche on steeper slopes. Photo: GNFAC
On Buck Ridge today (3/5/23) we found fresh, unstable drifts and buried weak layers. Recent avalanche activity is a sign that buried weak layers could be triggered and cause large avalanches, even though we didn't see unstable results in our snowpack tests.
Be cautious of steep slopes, especially if they are wind-loaded and avoid steep slopes if you suspect buried weak layers exist. Recent snow being drifted into thicker slabs is adding weight to weak layers and may cause danger to rise.
Around 4 or 5 pm today we rode out of Sheep Creek into the Miller Mountain area. When we looked at Miller there was a large avalanche that appeared to have occurred naturally (to our knowledge). It looked like the crown was 12-24'' and a few hundred feet wide. The debris looked fresh and must have occurred today. Given the depth we assumed it was windslab that had built up sometime in the last few days; however, hard to tell from so far away. We also observed another smaller natural avalanche on an exposed ridge below Miller Mtn, this looks to have been about 12in deep and probably occurred on the same layer as the larger avalanche. Both were on N or NNW facing slopes in areas with heavy wind deposition.
A lot of wind with the new snow created slabs in the Lima / Monida pass area.
Single pit (aspect: 100 deg, slope angle: 18 deg), two tests:
1. CTN
2. ECTX
- Lochlan Bennett, age 13, first snowpit (with assistance from a friend)
