Avalanche

Avalanche: Wilson Peak

Timothy MyersSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
15 m
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
61 m
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Slab Thickness
20 cm
Start Zone Aspect
South
Avalanche Problem
Wet Snow
Start Zone Elevation
2743 m

Today I triggered a 50 day wide wet slide. It traveled about 200 ft and stopped at the base of the peak in a grove of aspen. The slide occurred just before noon. We had skied Wilson chutes and were making our way back to Butler Fork trailhead. We (two skiers, one splitboarder) chose to ski the south aspect of Wilson peak as our exit. The snow was warming up and top layer began to move. One by one, we decided to traverse the south aspect until we got to about 9000 ft. I moved quickly down the last section and because of the aspen, I couldn’t help but to ski the steeper face. I stopped at the bottom and looked up at the slide that had occurred and was still moving. It was piling up at the base in a grove of aspen. I was several yards away and protected from being hit. The slide was mostly the new snow from last week (8 inch layer), but where it was piling up was deep enough to bury someone.