Lawine

Avalanche: Whitney Basin

Ted Scroggin/Craig GordonUintas
Auf der Karte ansehen

Quick report

Slope Angle
36°

Avalanche

Slab Width
457 m
Weak Layer
Ground Interface
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
152 m
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Slab Thickness
183 cm
Trigger Detail
Cornice Triggered
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
3231 m

Forecaster comment- Ted found this large natural during his travels in Whitney Basin on Mon. Feb. 17. We tried to pinpoint when it possibly occurred. Westerly winds have dominated since the very active zonal pattern developed in early January. This pattern tends to strip snow from Superbowl. However, looking back at Windy Peak wx data, southwest winds made their first appearance late in the evening of the 15th and blew into the 40's and 50's for 13 hours, essentially sealing the fate for a very weak, fragile snowpack.

Ted Scroggin knows the Uinta's like no one else and is a valuable member of the Utah Avalanche Center. Many thanks to Ted for having the intuition to sniff this one out... does this guy rock or what?