Back to the Monitors for another look at the north facing PC Ridgeline. Walked up Willow Heights for the first time this year, upon arriving at the top of West Monitor realized that the cornices were super sensitive remotely triggered a cornice drop off the peak the size of a Volkswagen from ten feet away. The ensuing sluff ran full track to the flats, it seemed to pull out more pockets lower on the slope entraining a good amount of snow. West Monitor was riddled with new snow crowns some were half way down the slope some, were up in the rocks in the starting zone, and some were on the roll over at the bottom. New snow was not bonding well, but there was no slab so the slides were mostly loose light density snow, not life threatening, I have a feeling if there was a slab and more weight we would have had an impressive avalanche cycle. Photos, cornice drop of the peak which ran to the flats, and some of the pockety crowns in West Monitor.

South Monitor did not have the crowns that West did mainly because its not as steep, did get a large chunk of cornice to release just by walking the ridge, that cornice also sent a sluff to the flats in the bottom, did note a natural avalanche in Scotts Bowl which I put on the Avalanche page. Photos, South Monitor cornice drop, west facing rime growing into the west winds yesterday.

Seems to me any wind forming a slab or more weight and things are going to get exciting.