Avalanche

Avalanche: Meadows

Brett GlasheenSalt Lake
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Quick report

Slope Angle
36°

Avalanche

Slab Width
38 m
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
30 m
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
20 cm
Start Zone Aspect
East
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Start Zone Elevation
2804 m

Small storm slab (8" deep x 25' wide) triggered on first lap in the football field as I stopped short of the steep pitches of the meadow chutes. The Avalanche initiated below my skis as I came to a stop where the pitch steepens to >35 degrees. This small avalanche ran ~100' into trees below. On my final lap, I stopped short of the steep rollover and again a storm slab initiated below me, this one however was quite a bit larger than the previous avalanche (pictured below). I would estimate that it was 100-150' wide and 8" deep. This failed at the new/old snow interface. The connectivity/propagation around a micro ridge feature definitely got my attention. I included a screenshot of the location of the first avalanche noted. Seems like >35 degrees was the tipping point in this location as up higher in the slightly lower angle terrain, I didn't observe avalanche activity