Quick report
- Slope Angle
- 27°
Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 9 m
- Weak Layer
- New Snow/Old Snow Interface
- Trigger Type
- Skier
- Vertical Fall
- 183 m
- Avalanche Type
- Wet Loose
- Slab Thickness
- 10 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Unintentionally Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- Southeast
- Avalanche Problem
- Wet Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2957 m
In the terrain traveled today, from about 9,900 feet to around 9,400 feet, we found an unusually stout and smooth rain crust under approximately 4 inches of high density settled snow that served as a pretty frictionless bed surface.
This avalanche was triggered in lower angle terrain that I wouldn't normally consider an avalanche starting zone (approximately 27 degrees). The avalanche ran shockingly fast and far, moving more like a river than a wet avalanche.
This small, low angle avalanche, that typically might have run a few feet ran over 600 vertical feet through the flats.
See photo below showing trigger site and low angle avalanche track.