Quick report
- Slope Angle
- 37°
Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 91 m
- Weak Layer
- New Snow/Old Snow Interface
- Trigger Type
- Natural
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 30 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2835 m
We observed a fresh avalanche on a northeast facing aspect along Sheep Shit Ridge in BCC. It appears to be a natural avalanche as we were unable to see any ski tracks in or out of this zone. Caltopo shading puts this slope in the 35-45° range. We estimate that the avalanche failed at the new/old interface approximately 12" (30 cm) down from the surface based on other pit profiles we conducted in this zone. It is likely that this slope was heavily wind loaded as we experienced mostly westerly winds along the exposed ridgelines in this zone.
The two photos below show the crown and flank of the avalanche (red line). It also appears that the avalanche connected to an adjacent slope, although there was no crown visible from our vantage point (dashed red line).
We classify this avalanche as a soft slab, natural trigger, big enough to bury/kill a skier, and failure likely occuring in the old/new interface (SS-N-D2/R3-I).
Note: All measurements in this report are estimates or based on measurements on Caltopo.