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Natural loose wet instability on Crag Peak

Location Name: Crag Peak Region: Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay) Observation Date & Time: Tuesday, March 16, 2021 - 12:00
Location: 38.976028, -120.150943 See map: CalTopo	Is this an Avalanche Observation?: Yes Conditions Alerts: Rapid or Prolonged Warming Rapid or Prolonged Warming›Rollerballs / Pinwheels Rapid or Prolonged Warming›Strong Sunshine Rapid or Prolonged Warming›Warm Temperatures Terrain Alerts: Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees Obvious Slide Path Trigger Points Terrain Matches the Advisory

Observation made by: Forecaster

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Observation

Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions:

While touring Rubicon Peak this morning we were able to look across at the E face of Crag Peak. This location is a classic producer of natural loose wet avalanches. On our first sighting at 10:45 am we could see a few small (D1) loose wet avalanches had already occurred. It is unclear if these had occurred earlier this morning or during sun breaks yesterday afternoon. On our seconding sighting of Crag Peak at noon, we could see that additional loose wet avalanches and roller balls had occurred naturally during the past 1.25 hours. See the 10:45 am and 12:00 pm photos for comparison.

12:00 pm with additional loose wet avalanches having occurred since the first photo at 10:45 am

10:45 am with a few loose wet avalanches present.

Avalanche Details

Avalanche Type:

Wet Loose

Failure Plane/Weak Layer:

Storm Snow

Trigger

Trigger:

Natural

Terrain

Aspect:

East

Starting Elevation:

above-treeline

Size

Destructive Size:

D1 Relatively harmless to people.

Weather Details

Elevation of Observation:

8000 - 9000 ft.

Blowing Snow:

None

Wind Direction:

Southwest

Wind Speed:

Light

Sky Cover:

Few - Mostly Clear - up to 2/8 covered

Air temperature:

Above Freezing

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Natural loose wet instability on Crag Peak

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Natural loose wet instability on Crag Peak

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