Glide Crack Below Eagle Buttress

Location Name: 
Below Eagle Buttress
Region: 
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay)
Date and time of observation: 
Tue, 03/14/2017 - 13:00
Location Map: 
United States
38° 56' 42.2736" N, 120° 7' 33.708" W
See map: Google Maps
US


Red Flags: 
Rapid warming
Obvious avalanche path
Terrain Trap
Observation made by: Forecaster
Snowpit Observations
More detailed information about the snowpack: 

A glide crack has opened during the warm weather on a steep granite slope above Eagle Lake. It is on an east aspect around 7400 ft. This one of many such cracks across the forecast area. Due to the unpredictability of when these glide cracks may or may not release as glide avalanches, avoiding areas with glide cracks represents a wise course of action. Below is an animation of the glide crack photos in the series. The time step between each photo is 2 days.

Animation of the glide crack photos

 

Snowpack photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
No
Cloud Cover: 
Clear
Air temperature: 
Above Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Light
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest