Glide Cracks
- Alpine
- Treeline
- Below treeline
- Likelihood
- Likely
- Size
- 3
It's glide avalanche season in the standard areas of Broads, Stairs, and Mill B South of BCC, upper Porter Fork (Raymond Slabs), and other areas where the glide cracks are opening. A large glide release ran in mid-Broads Fork (Bonkers) on Saturday (pic below). Bill Nalli has an excellent pic of the many glide cracks in steep east to northeast facing Broads from Sunday. Glide avalanches are not human triggered - they run spontaneously as full depth releases and would likely be unsurvivable. Avoidance and/or minimizing exposure is the best course of action. For more info on glides, click here and here.
Historical Note: We suffered two glide avalanche fatalities in Stairs Gulch in April 2001...and a very close call and serious injuries below the Diving Board in Broads Fork of February 2013.