5 Mile Creek
AvalancheBomberJ · Mar 21, 2021 · Chilkat Pass
Quick report
- Weather
- warm, cloudy, windy, sunny
- Ride Type
- mellowSlopes, sunnySlopes, openTrees
- Stayed Away
- convexSlopes, steepSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- powder, heavy, windAffected
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSlab
Pocket wind slabs from ongoing N wind event along with a recent natural across the valley kept us choosing conservative terrain and avoiding top and cross loaded convexities. S facing aspects around 5 mile are starting to bake in the sun, particularly around rocks, cliffs and trees, although we were able to find soft shaded snow on more SW'erly aspects. Conditions varied between sastrugi, wind slab, recycled powder, and mashed potatoes but were predictable enough to hunt out the good snow and stick to it.
Weather
- Avg Temp
- -1
- Wind Speed
- windSpeedModerate
- Blowing Snow
- light
- Sky Condition
- overcast
- Wind Direction
- N
- New Snow24 Hours
- 10
- Temperature Trend
- steady
- Precipitation Type
- none
Thin overcast didn't obscure the sun and made for a 'greenhouse' effect. The top 10cm of new snow was moist, although we didn't observe any roller balls or loose wet activity, even around S facing rocks and cliffs. Mod-Strong N-NW winds above 900m.
Snowpack
- Obs Type
- summary
- Site Aspect
- SE, S
- Test Fracture
- sudden
- Site Elevation
- 750
- Ski Penetration
- 10
- Test Initiation
- moderate
- Foot Penetration
- 20
- Test Failure Depth
- 20
- Site Elevation Band
- tln, btl
- Surface Conditions
- newSnow, variable
- Test Failure Layer Crystal Types
- facets
CTM results down 20cm on 1cm layer of 2mm facets. Surprisingly clean and energetic failure. No cracking or whumphing observed but given the power of the sun and solar warming we steered clear of unsupported, steep terrain.
Avalanche
- Run Length
- 700
- Slab Width
- 100
- Trigger Type
- natural
- Wind Exposure
- crossLoadedSlope
- Avalanche Size
- 2
- Trigger Sub Type
- accidental
- Start Zone Aspect
- NE
- Vegetation Cover
- openSlope
- Avalanche Character
- windSlab
- Number Of Avalanches
- 1
- Start Zone Elevation
- 900
- Avalanche Observation
- 24to48hrsAgo
- Start Zone Elevation Band
- alp
- Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
- 2021-03-20T05:17:00.000Z
Wind slab pocket on the NE flank of Mt McDonell.