Sketchy graupel death layer!

[Joseph.szasz]

While skiing in E. Willow Creek on 5/1 I came across a really sketchy graupel layer under 4-8 inches of new snow. Lots of fresh debris as well as witnessing a few good size wet slides including a point release on the slope lookers right above the lake. The whole snowpack up there really gave me the creeps! Heads up out there. BTW the trail is not conducive to skinning until you get to the first basin. Tough hiking in some spots where there is ice on trail.

 

[PowderPanda]

WoW Joe... Thank you for that info.. Wondering how that will rollout by this weekend. Some light precip coming through late week. Doesn't look like snow either..
As I drove back from MT this afternoon, the North facing slopes still had some snow on them until I hit Kellogg. Silver had nothing in the trees.. That was about 7pm.

 

[PowderPanda]

Joe...do you think crampons would be sufficient to climb that chute?

 

[Joseph.szasz]

Yes, I use the bd neve's and a whippet. The snow in that chute was much more stable than the headwall below the lake.

 

[PowderPanda]

Joe.. All that new snow slid out of the chute.. some decent size avy debris ensued..Some of it rolled over your old tracks. In this pic you can barely see the bottom of the debris fanout. The day you were there, would have been SICK to ride. Now I'm bummed I was in Billings... It was still pretty good except I had to cut skiers left out of that main slide area to the adjacent chute field.. it was hard to get a ic of my line.. there are two different one. The one on the left and another that is in the upper right at the bottom of the gnarly chute.
BTW.. did you come in on the Summer trail or a different route?

 

[Joseph.szasz]

I used a couple a section of the trail but skied down below the big campsite then skied out on the atv trail since it had better snow cover. So jealous but glad I didn't get avalanched out that chute. Nice work!