Avalanche

Avalanche: Lake Desolation

MichaelSalt Lake
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Quick report

Slope Angle
39°

Avalanche

Slab Width
61 m
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
122 m
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Slab Thickness
152 cm
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Start Zone Elevation
2926 m

While snowshoeing above Desolation Lake I noticed an avalanche to my left above the Lake. The slide was difficult to notice from below as it was obscured by tall pines. I snowshoed to the location and was able to take some nice pictures. The fracture point at the top of the slide was 4' to 5' deep and ran through pines with some pretty decent force. The terminus was several feet deep up to 6'+ in a couple of locations. This was a fairly large slide and one that certainly wouldn't have been fun to be involved with considering its size and potentially being strained through large pines along the slides path. The date of 2/22/14 was an estimate but there was an inch or two of new snow on the slides path which ties well into last weeks storm cycle.