Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center » Public Observation

Observation Date:

January 21, 2023

Submitted:

January 21, 2023

Zone or Region:

Mammoth Lakes

Activity:

Skiing/Snowboarding

Location:

Hammil Zone / Cold Water Creek

A friend and I tour up Cold Water Creek with the objective of reaching Hammil Lake and checking out the bowl and skiing the trees below the bench. There was obvious wind affected snow in the bowl visible from far below from Friday 1/20’s winds. There was lots of sastrugi on the ridge although not all of it was stiff.

We did not ascend higher than Hammil Lake although there was probably some soft snow amongst the wind board found at 10k ft and higher and on exposed ridges. We experienced a small wumpf and some isolated wind slabs along the bench near the lake.

The snow in the trees was soft and deep, making for fun turns and cruising. No obvious signs of instability were observed on the descent back to Lake Mary although we stuck to lower angle terrain. All in all a beautiful day in the mountains!

Did you observe any avalanches?

Yes

Comments:

Pretty good slide on East Face of Hammil, appears to have been lots of activity over the last couple weeks, lots of avy debris visible under more recent snow.