Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 21 m
- Weak Layer
- New Snow
- Trigger Type
- Snowboarder
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 20 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Remotely Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- North
- Avalanche Problem
- Wind Slab
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2530 m
This avalanche was triggered remotely and unintentionally on a north facing aspect at about 8320 feet. This was on the leeward slope relative to the direction of the wind at the time. The avalanche was triggered from about 30 feet away. The slope angle was roughly 35 degrees according to caltopo. The snowfall was consistent and had put about 1 inch on our skin track an hour after our first lap. The wind was blowing roughly 15 mph along the ridge but was relatively still in the trees below the ridge. Me and my partner were skinning up a large flat section of the park city ridgeline when we noticed a small wind slab release about 100 feet away from where we were standing. The first photo is taken from this point. As we approached the edge of the ridge to take a look, we noticed the slab was actually 70 feet wide, with the closest side roughly 30 feet from where we were standing when it was triggered. The crown was 8” deep on average, but in some points broke over a 1’ cornice making it appear much deeper. The debris ran about 100 feet downhill into trees. At this point we reassessed our travel and descent plans for the day. We were able to find stellar conditions in well spaced trees at similar aspects and elevations on slopes less than 30 degrees.