Avalanche: Circle Awl

Got surprised today by a small mid-slope pocket today in Circle Awl. On approach, my partner and I commented on how the new snow felt slightly inverted but I believed it would be isolated to the ridge line. We decided to sample a small yet steep generally E-facing bowl that opened up into a lower angle planar slope. Not much vert overall. After two ski cuts near the ridge line without result (big red X in photo), we decided to ski it. I went first and pulled up in a safe spot below some shrubs to watch my partner ski. When he was clear, I followed. About 2/3 of the way down the pitch, I was hit by a slough and my feet were taken out from beneath me. Luckily, my skis ended up across the slope and without much effort I stopped myself and let the slough flow around and over me. After the dust settled a few seconds later, I was sitting above a small grove of scrub oak near the black X. Getting dragged into the patch might've been a bad time. The pocket that released was immediately below my safe spot. Overall, the slough ran about 200' vertical. Our 2nd and 3rd runs were on S-facing terrain which felt more settled/less inverted. Overall a gentle learning opportunity about dry loose/soft slabs and calibrating the feeling of snow beneath my skis.