Avalanche

Avalanche: Box Elder

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Avalanche

Slab Width
46 m
Weak Layer
New Snow
Trigger Type
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Start Zone Aspect
East
Avalanche Problem
Wind Slab
Start Zone Elevation
3292 m

We spotted this slide on the way up to Silver Lake from Tibble Fork. From what I can make out it appears that a windslab was triggered, maybe by cornice fall. This smaller pocket then triggered another slightly larger avalanche down the slope. Hard to tell specifics but it looked to maybe be 150' feet wide and 1' deep.

Looking at the bed surface of the secondary avalanche it does look like it may have broken into old snow by the jagged mark where it rolled over a convexity.

Winds where howling on the ridges from the SW, but I think that this avalanche was formed and released when the winds where more westerly.