Avalanche

Avalanche: Little Water

Mark OliverSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
46 m
Weak Layer
Facets
Trigger Type
Skier
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
91 cm
Trigger Detail
Remotely Triggered
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
2896 m

Beautiful day and good skiing today on low angle terrain in upper powder park area. In the afternoon we decided to take a stroll up Little Water Peak via Sheep Shit Ridge. Approximately 200 feet from the summit while on the skin track, I felt and heard heavy settling triggering a sympathetic release Avalanche on heavily wind loaded Northeast slope of Little Water Peak. The fracture line was approximately 2-4 feet thick, down to ground, and ran approximately 500 feet to the bottom of the run.

1st photo looking up to Little Water Peak taken prior to the avalanche with old avalanche debris in the background

2nd photo shows a skier standing at about the same location I was standing when the avalanche was triggered. Zoom in and you can see a thin fracture line that starts near the skin track and extends to just above the fracture line

4th photo is taken farther back down the ridgeline to demonstrate the size of the slide

5th photo is looking back down to the original fracture site

A good reminder of how fragile the snow pack is right now