Spring time, North Cascades National Park. To get an idea of scale of this avalanche, it would fill a major league baseball stadium to about the 20th row.
Low camp in the high Cascades. Prime (that is, safe) avalanche viewing area. Camping, snowshoeing and cross country/back country skiing are favorite activities in the North Cascades. The sightseeing is pretty good too!
This bear wandered in to, then out of camp. In the three days we were camped here, it didn't bother us at all, not even messing with our food.
Note the trees snapped off well above the ground. This reflects how deep the snowpack was when the avalanche roared through. This is not a place to loiter...
Avalanche debris across the Cascade River road. Note the steel signpost at bottom of image. There is no such thing as outrunning or "swimming" through a Cascade avalanche, as entrained material includes boulders and trees, in addition to blocks of rock hard ice/snow.
Sahale Peak rises a vertical mile above Midas/Boston Creek at this point. This tremendous local relief generates incredible avalanches. Note the size of the trees entrained and snapped in this event. Again, not a place to loiter.
Best smelling pack in North Cascades National Park!
The ring around the sun is known as a sun dog, and is formed by ice crystals high in the atmosphere.
Mix-Up, Triplets and Cascade Peak (l-r) loom above low camp, below Cascade Pass.
The sun sets behind Sibley Pass, North Cascades National Park. Virga (precipitation that doesn't hit the ground) makes for a wonderful canvas on which sunlight paints this sunset.
