Avalanche

Avalanche: Chutes and Ladders

P Diegel, T DiegelSalt Lake
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Quick report

Slope Angle
40°

Avalanche

Slab Width
12 m
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
46 m
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
41 cm
Start Zone Aspect
Northeast
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
2682 m

Came across a recent avalanche that I don't think was reported. I'm pretty sure it happened 1/5/21. I might have mis-placed the pin on the map - it was at 40.621, -111.660, very low in ( I think) Chutes and Ladders. It was right at a rollover with a pair of old mining cables running down-fall line just above the snow. Steep, narrow, sheltered, and shaded gully with a very difficult exit to the road. Very complex terrain that I'm not very familiar with and, in retrospect, should not have been in. 2 ski tracks going into it, 2 coming out, quick beacon search yielded no results. I don't think the debris was deep enough to bury someone unless they were really unlucky, but there were multiple terrain features that could have serious consequences (trees, rocks, gully). Cracking occured over a wide area but it actually ran in a much smaller area, through some trees and into another steep, narrow gully. The bed surface was a thin facet layer above a hard refrozen layer, perhaps 2 1/2 ft total snow depth ( I forgot to measure the total depth). It is noteworthy that this happened at a low elevation; only a few hundred ft above and within sight of the road.