Avalanche

Avalanche: Wolverine Cirque

BSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
38 m
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
107 m
Slab Thickness
41 cm
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Avalanche Problem
Wind Slab
Start Zone Elevation
3200 m

During one of the short breaks in the Intense Winds and some limited clearing, it was possible to barely see a crown and the avalanche run out while standing in the lower Wolverine Cirque. I spent more than 15 minutes hoping for a break in the clouds and during that time THC ran. I had a good visual on it before and a limited view of it after. The visibility was not good enough to even catch it in a picture, and the light went on and off so fast this didn't help either. It ran to the low angle flats, and the crown was almost wall to wall in the chute. It appeared to be more than a foot deep, estimate would have it at 16 inches. It appeared to be triggered by the SW Wind loading, and the crown was approximately 10 feet below the overhanging cornice.