Valanga

Avalanche: Bear Trap

Zack Little, Sam HoffmanSalt Lake
Vedi sulla mappa

Quick report

Slope Angle
36°

Avalanche

Slab Width
30 m
Weak Layer
Facets
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
18 m
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
51 cm
Start Zone Aspect
West
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
2438 m

While traveling up Beartrap Fork, we noted this D1.5 avalanche on the skiers left side of the approach gully. We are unsure when this avalanche exactly occurred during the storm. The debris went into the typical skin track with up to 4-5' of snow in certain places, and while small, this slide could have buried a human considering it went into a gully. We assume (based on pit results noted below) that this released sometime during the 12/1-12/2 storm, on the the persistent NSF layer. Collapsing and cracking was noted on low/mid elevations on all aspects.