Soft wind slabs and small storm slab formation on Incline Peak

Location Name: 
Incline Peak
Region: 
Mount Rose Area
Observation Date & Time: 
Wednesday, December 29, 2021 - 11:00
Location: 
39.294202, -119.939729
Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
No


Conditions Alerts:


Terrain Alerts: 
Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees
Trigger Points
Terrain Matches the Advisory

Observation made by: Guide at Alpenglow Expeditions

Tabs

Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

On our day off, we pivoted from our orignal plan (due to parking) to ski Incline Peak. The pullouts for Incline Peak were not plowed around 9AM, so we parked at Mt Rose Meadows (side note: pullouts were plowed in the afternoon). It was snowing harder than expected (graupel). After skinning up the summer trail and approaching the ridge, we noticed cornice formation and wind slabs. Upon reaching the summit we dropped into a low angle slope that was wind affected. The snow got faster and lighter as we dipped into the trees. Upon dipping into the trees, we noticed some natural cracking in the new storm snow on convex rollovers (trigger point) that were about two inches deep. 

On lap two we stomped on some cornices and triggered a couple of small D1 wind slab avalanches prior to dropping into our line. (Both on test slopes with no consequence below). We opted to drop into our line via low angle terrain to avoid the wind slabs, and opened it up down below in some incredibly light, blower pow. On our skin out, our original skin track had been almost completely filled in! The December to remember continues!

 

Hide Terrain Details
Terrain: elevations: 
Above Treeline
Near Treeline
Terrain: aspects: 
NW
N
NE
Hide Weather Details
Elevation of Observation: 
8000 - 9000 ft.
Above 9000 ft.
Blowing Snow: 
Light
Wind Direction: 
Southwest
Wind Speed: 
Light
Sky Cover: 
Overcast - Cloudy - 8/8 covered
Precipitation: 
Snow
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
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