Avalanche

Avalanche: Cornice Ridge, Big Cornice

Toby WeedLogan
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Quick report

Slope Angle
39°

Avalanche

Slab Width
91 m
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
183 m
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Slab Thickness
53 cm
Trigger Detail
Intentionally Triggered
Start Zone Aspect
North
Start Zone Elevation
2865 m

I triggered this sizable wind slab avalanche while stomping along Cornice Ridge. Unintentional in that it was quite a bit larger and the slope much more sensitive than I expected...

The avalanche was 1 to 2 feet deep and around 300 feet wide. The slab failed on a nice layer of faceted snow under the dusty layer from Friday night's wind. Most of the slab built with high winds on Sunday 11-22-09 and overnight.

Darren McAvoy took this shot of me examining the scene.

This is looking down the the chunk-filled path of the avalanche. The avalanche ran about 600 vertical feet down the the bench below the bowl.