Public Observation #2022-712
Observation Details
Submitted:
May 10, 2022 8:31 AMObservation Date:
May 9, 2022Zone or Region:
Central CascadesActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Southeast Ridge of Broken TopObserved Avalanches
Did you observe any avalanches?
YesAvalanche Type:
Hard SlabSize:
D2: Could bury, injure, or kill a personElevation:
7800Aspect:
SEComments:
Naturally occuring wind slab avalanche on E/SE aspect above treeline -- to lookers left of Pucker Up on Broken Top's SE ridge. Size D1.5-2Signs of Unstable Snow
Did you see shooting cracks?
YesDid you experience collapsing or whumpfing?
NoObservations
Quite a large natural avalanche was observed on an E/SE aspect above treeline. Unsure when the slide occurred, but due to how fresh it looked when we saw it on Monday 5/9 @ 12pm, we assume it happened sometime that morning after the most recent snow had fallen. Relatively large visible crown and slide debris, but hard to tell exactly how large from our vantage point.We dug a pit on a similar aspect on Ball Butte to find that there were multiple weak layers in the new storm snow. The top ~36" of storm snow was highly consolidated, creating potentially high-energy slabs should the weak layer go. Be careful out there on the wind-loaded aspects!
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