Ghost Falls
Avalanchechartmetz · Feb 10, 2018 · Maligne
Weather
- Wind Speed
- windSpeedCalm
- Blowing Snow
- moderate
- Sky Condition
- brokenClouds
- New Snow24 Hours
- 0
- Temperature Trend
- rising
- Precipitation Type
- none
- Precipitation24 Hours
- 0
Calm day, with gradual clearing noted. Cloud cover was thin, which helped the sun pack a punch temperature-wise. We noted calm winds, but were in gully/canyon features for most of the day. We observed some blowing snow on upper elevation peaks (Cavell, Geraldine, Christie) in the later part of the day. When the sun came around to our westerly aspect, we noted significant warming, tree bombing and small sluffs from steep, rocky terrain. We skedaddled pretty quickly thereafter.
Snowpack
- Depth
- 70
- Obs Type
- summary
- Site Aspect
- W
- Test Initiation
- none
- Foot Penetration
- 60
- Cracking Observed
- 1
- Site Elevation Band
- tln, btl
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow
- Whumpfing Observed
- 1
Low elevation creekbeds produced numerous settlements and shooting cracks. We did not dig down to observe the failure plane or grain forms, but these settlements were isolated to open creekbed terrain sheltered by trees. I suspected surface hoar to be present. We were not able to observe the upper elevation snowpack or the limit of this instability due to avalanche debris on our route.
Avalanche
- Trigger Type
- natural
- Avalanche Size
- 3
- Start Zone Aspect
- W
- Avalanche Character
- persistentSlab
- Number Of Avalanches
- 1
- Runout Zone Elevation
- 1500
- Avalanche Observation
- 24to48hrsAgo
- Start Zone Elevation Band
- alp
- Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
- 2018-02-08T12:00:00
Observed significant avalanche debris on the approach to Ghost Falls. Debris filled the approach canyon to within about 100m above the second pitch of the climb (1650 m). Based on the height of new snow on top of the debris, the avalanche ran near the tail end of the last storm cycle. Every branch of the creek/canyon that we traveled had slid. We noted several mature trees in the debris. Based on a hasty look at the local foliage, it looks like the avalanche reached close to its historical runout. [Note: avalanche time is a best guess as this form will not submit without an exact time]. Also of note was a loose dry avalanche, size 1, triggered by solar input / tree bomb around at approximately 1400 hours, west aspect, 1870 m. This small gully feature is only about 25-30 degrees. The avalanche ran for approximately 30 m, was 20 cm thick and 2 m wide. Such a low slope angle producing a loose dry avalanche indicated a significant storm snow instability. We were glad that most of our terrain had been cleaned out already.