Avalanche

Relay Peak - Southeast Bowl

Avalanche.org observerCentral Sierra Nevada
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Observation photo 1

Quick report

I believe the avalanche was a wet slab. The snow released at the interface with the previous surface and displayed slab-like behavior when triggered. Size appeared to be between D1 and D2, I could see small trees in the run out getting knocked around. This was my second lap on the southeast bowl of Relay, and on the way back up from the first lap I was seeing increasingly large roller balls. It was clear that the snow was getting more unstable as it warmed up in the sun. Also experience quite a bit of glopping on my skins and could subjectively feel the snow getting heavier and more saturated.

Avalanche

Triggered an avalanche with a ski cut in the southeast bowl of Relay Peak. The avalanche started at about 9900 feet and ran to about 9300 feet. The crown is was about 50 feet wide and about 4 inches in height. Slope angle was about 40 degrees and the avalanche was triggered on a convex rollover.