Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 61 m
- Weak Layer
- Density Change
- Trigger Type
- Snowboarder
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 15 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- North
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2530 m
It seems the entire Porter/Neffs/Norths zone is as unglued as we've seen since the big big cycles of Dec and Jan this season. New storm snow instability proved more stubborn than Sunday though.
Starting down Memorial 3-4, we suspected the slope could slide since it didn't have signs of already having slid. Skier 1 cut it with no results and then dropped to an island of safety. Skier 2 (on a snowboard), still not trusting the slope, followed skier 1's tracks and popped the entire slope out to about 200' to skiers right under a set of cliffs. Skier 2 skied to skiers' left to an island of safety. Skier 1 was hit from above by the slide but largely shielded from most of the snow by the tree they were standing down slope from. Slide ran full track to below the waterfall (1500' vert).
While the snow has been extremely touchy lately throughout this zone, with soft slabs failing on a density change (seems sometimes graupel, sometimes just lower density snow), this was the first time anything broke after an initial ski cut. Typically these density changes seem to settle out quickly, but this one is taking its time. Perhaps due to the consistent little snow squawls that keep rolling through?