Avalanche

Avalanche: All Areas

UAC StaffSalt Lake
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Quick report

Slope Angle
38°

Avalanche

Slab Width
61 m
Weak Layer
Facets
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
305 m
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
46 cm
Start Zone Aspect
Southeast
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
2865 m

This series of avalanches is possibly radiation recrystallization. There were a series of avalanches occurring primarily on south through east aspects that caught a number of people off guard. It would be interesting to look back and see if we could identify when the radiation recrystallization crystals may have formed and been buried. Other notes say these may have either formed or been buried on January 10, 2001.

January 19:

  • Just south of 9,990'- south- 1' deep x 50' wide ( ran on sun crust)

January 20:

  • Wilson Fork-Bonus Bowl-northeast- 4" deep x 20' wide x 200' vertical wind loaded snow over near surface facets
  • Brighton Backcountry- southeast-12" deep x 30' wide failed with a ski cut
  • Tuscarora- southeast- snowboarder triggered multiple small pockets. Not deep enough to bury them, but they took a "scary ride"
  • Reynolds-northeast- 12" deep x 20" wide x 300' vertical. "multiple avalanches sympathetically"

January 24:

  • Squaretop- northeast- 8" deep x 30' wide-" windslab over 4mm facets- very weak and triggered by ski cut"