Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 6 m
- Trigger Type
- Skier
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 20 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Intentionally Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2896 m
Went out with a goal of staying safe, skiing pow and trying to find some small slabs to kick off. Toured multiple aspects in the Brighton backcountry. Starting on low angle south facing into snake creek. About 10 inches on a hard bed surface, smooth but bottom feedy. Solars picked up heat quick when the sun broke out about 11:30 and snow started to feel a bit cohesive and pushy as the skin track steepened near the ridge.
Dropped V-tree, which was wind stripped to the choke, then a bit of wind loading, then nice settled snow, with a decent amount of slow moving sluff.
Last, we did two did two mini golf laps on north east facing terrain near dog lake chutes where new snow was reactive at convexities. Triggered two tiny slabs the first lap, one which was triggered by a skiers sluff.
Biggest slide of the day was intentionally triggered on the last lap, by the last skier (~3pm) at a convexity right where the textbooks say the trigger point will be. Only about 8" deep soft slab, but propagated about 20-25 feet and entrained a surprising amount of snow for such a small slope. Would not have wanted to unintentional find that slide in bigger terrain where it could have picked up more momentum.
No other signs of instability and could have easily been lulled into thinking the snow was bomber.