21-22
From obs 1/1/22: "While skinning towards the ramp we witnessed what looked like a natural slide that started right around Pete’s Pinnacle which ran down along the boundary line about 1000 feet. Unknown trigger."
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sun Jan 2, 2022GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Tue Jan 4, 2022
Small skier triggered soft slabs, Saddle Peak
We were able to easily trigger small fresh drifts of snow on 1/1/22 as they formed from strong west wind.
Natural wind slabs on Saddle Peak
On 1/1/2022 we saw two recent natural wind slabs in addition to the two that were reported yesterday. One was on the north summit of Saddle Peak and the other was on the north side of Argentina Bowl. - GNFAC
Strong ridgetop winds transported snow onto Saddle Peak creating unstable slabs on January 1st. Photo: GNFAC
Beehive Basin
Toured into Beehive Basin from Beehive Basin Trailhead. We got to the trailhead at around 8:00am or so and it was -18 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to strong winds the past week coming from W/SW our objective was to ride the west facing chutes coming down from the ridge that runs between Beehive Basin and Middle Basin. The negative degree temps were constant throughout the day, even when the sun came out. There were completely clear skies and very little wind, only a slight breeze coming from the west. We saw no signs of avalanches or instability at any point during the day. Some spots off to the side of the chutes and higher up in the chutes were thin. We hit rocks while skinning up and some spots had light snow on top of a crust that made skinning somewhat difficult in these spots. We dug a snow pit near the bottom of one of the chutes to test the layer of facets that is near the ground. The snow depth was 75cm and we got CTH26 PC 20cm from the ground on the layer of facets and ECTX. Having not gotten any concerning results on the layer of facets we felt confident in the stability of the relatively steep chutes and enjoyed a few fun laps riding great snow in the center of the chutes.
Strong winds on 1/1/2022 formed fresh, soft drifts. These drifts broke and cracked easily, and slid on steep slopes. Photo: GNFAC
We saw this natural avalanche on the north summit of Saddle Peak on 1/1/2022. It is one of at least 4 natural avalanches that broke on wind-loaded slopes on Saddle Peak in the past 3-4 days. Recent snow and wind formed slabs over weak facets which makes large avalanches possible to trigger. Photo: BBSP
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sun Jan 2, 2022GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Mon Jan 3, 2022
We saw this fresh natural avalanches near Saddle Peak on 1/1/2022. Recent snow and wind formed slabs over weak facets which makes large avalanches possible to trigger. Photo: GNFAC
Forecast link: GNFAC Avalanche Forecast for Sun Jan 2, 2022