Avalanche

Avalanche: Cutler Ridge

Derek DeBruin & co.Ogden
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Avalanche

Slab Width
12 m
Weak Layer
Facets
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
3 m
Avalanche Type
Wet Slab
Slab Thickness
25 cm
Start Zone Aspect
North
Avalanche Problem
Wet Snow
Start Zone Elevation
1981 m

This small avalanche happened naturally overnight in a location I'd not seen before, perhaps 100ft below the skin track on a convexity. It failed on the old surface--now wet--facets atop the subsurface crust. The crown was about 10 inches of wet storm snow, with a few inches of additional new snow atop the bed surface when we saw it this morning (thereby indicating the overnight timing). Given the moisture content of both the slab and the facets, wet slab seemed most appropriate.