Avalanche

Avalanche: Figure 8 Hill

Matthew BrownSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
18 m
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Trigger Type
Skier
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
25 cm
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Start Zone Elevation
2987 m

We skinned up Patsey Marley and decided to ski down heaven's gate. There was pretty intense fresh snow falling. I skied over a bit of a breaking rollover and the top 10" broke. It was approximately 60' and ran for 100'. Enough to knock me down but not carry.

It looked like it was just the top layer of new snow with minimal wind loading. Underneath the surface felt like wind board.