Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 6 m
- Trigger Type
- Skier
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 30 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- Wind Slab
- Start Zone Elevation
- 3139 m
My partner and I witnessed some wind loading on northeast-facing ridge lines at around 10,300' just below the summit of Patsey Marley on Twin Lakes pass. We decided to drop in below the summit due to large cornices above nearly all of the east- and northeast-facing terrain at the summit. We did severa ski cuts expecting to knock off some snow. A series of small wind slabs totaling about 20' wide and up to 12" thick slid down and stopped less than 100' down the slope. The slope angle was around 35° in this area with some convex features. After more ski cuts and no slabs, we decided to ski down 500' or so. The second pitch, while slightly steeper and on the same aspect, did not show any signs of wind loading due to its lower elevation at about 9700'. There was no cracking or other signs of avalanche danger here.