Sierra Buttes
Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
Overall, the snowpack in this area seemed stabile. There was only about 2-4" of new snow in this area above about 7,000', although there was evidence that winds had moved snow around in the recent days. The only signs of potential instability that we observed were a relatively small cornice at the top of the couloir and minor shallow cracking on an undercut switchback in the skin track around 7,000'. These cracks only extended 1.5-2' from my skis and were 4-6" deep. NE winds had started to pick up by 10 AM above about 7,500'.
Avalanche
- Size
- D1
- Aspect
- NE
- Trigger
- AF
- Elevation
- 7900 ft
While boot packing up a NE facing couloir, we triggered a small D1 wind slab near the top of the couloir around 7,900'. Although the relatively small slab was only about 7-9 feet wide and 8-10 inches deep, it was enough to knock two people off their feet and carry them down the couloir. One person was carried approximately 150' downhill and stopped on top of the snow, and the other person was carried approximately 300' and was partially buried up to their mid-thighs. No injuries were sustained.