Avalanches and Red Flags

Skier triggered wind slab at Castle Lake on 3.11.21

Location Name:

Mount Shasta and Castle Lake

Region:

Mt. Shasta

Date and time of avalanche (best estimate if unknown):

Thu, 03/11/2021 - 11:30am

Observation made by:

Forecaster

Red Flags:

Recent avalanche activity

Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain

Terrain Trap

Location Map

96067 Mount Shasta , CA

United States

41° 13' 25.1436" N, 122° 22' 56.8848" W

See map: Google Maps

California US

Avalanche Observations

Details

Today was the first mostly clear day after a rather surprisingly strong storm that brought nearly 30 inches of new snow to the mountains. Several red flags of danger presented today:

Recent, heavy snow. Just under 2.5 inches of water and 30 inches of snow fell over a 58-hour period starting on 3-8-21 at 0400 hours. Deep, unconsolidated snow dominates the backcountry above 5,000 feet. A crust exists on some sunny aspects and lower elevations.
Recent avalanches, both skier triggered and natural. A skier triggered slide (see photo) occurred at Castle Lake off Middle Peak. A couple natural wind slabs occurred off Sargents Ridge, well above treeline, (photo)
Wind blowing snow. Moderate to strong E/NE wind was very productive and moving snow around today, loading W-SW-S-SE slopes and probably some others as well. (video)