Avalanche

Avalanche: Salt Lake

BSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
91 m
Weak Layer
Facets
Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
107 m
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Start Zone Aspect
North
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
3170 m

This slide on Old Reliable in the Brighton Back Bowls, along with another similar one spotted in the main Millicent Bowl both appeared to release around 2000 hours on Friday night during the high PI rates and Intense westerly winds. Both slides were hard slabs and left debris well down into the transitions. Both slides had at least 5 cm of new snow on top of the debris. I never got a good look at the one in the Millicent Bowl as we were ascending the west ridge of Millicent Peak and we never were able to see the entire slide. It appeared to have taken out at least 60% of the bowl and run on the m/f crust. We only saw the one on Old Reliable from a distance, yet the pattern appeared the same. In the picture of the slide in Old Reliable it is hard to see the entire crown, and this is a result of it being blown in after the slide as well as the distance. The crown ran along the cliff line at the top of the slide path all the way from the Stupid Chute to 100 Turn Gully.