Feb 19, 2008, East Fork Miller River
2/19/08
2098
1
This XC ski trip with my kids hardly qualifies as a backcountry trip, but I thought I would post a couple of photos of avalanches that had run all the way to the valley bottom. Both avalanches were on the stretch of road between the W. Fork and E. Fork bridges, around 1400 feet. They came from E to NE facing slopes which are part of the Cascade Mountain ridge, which tops out around 5000 feet. The first seemed pretty big when we came upon it across the road; it just made it over the road and didn't go to the river, so we were able to ski around the toe of it.
The second avalanche was MUCH bigger, and was located right before the E. Fork bridge. This one looked like it might have stopped right at the edge of the river, but we didn't go down and take a look. The most impressive aspects of this avalanche were the "extrusion walls" of snow.
It will obviously take quite a long time for this debris pile to melt out in the spring, and then there will most likely be tree debris on the road (if the road bed didn't get destroyed). Perhaps a preview of access restrictions we will face in the spring?
The second avalanche was MUCH bigger, and was located right before the E. Fork bridge. This one looked like it might have stopped right at the edge of the river, but we didn't go down and take a look. The most impressive aspects of this avalanche were the "extrusion walls" of snow.
It will obviously take quite a long time for this debris pile to melt out in the spring, and then there will most likely be tree debris on the road (if the road bed didn't get destroyed). Perhaps a preview of access restrictions we will face in the spring?