Avalanche

Avalanche: South Face

Derek DeBruinOgden
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Avalanche

Trigger Type
Natural
Vertical Fall
122 m
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Start Zone Aspect
Southeast
Start Zone Elevation
2926 m

This sizeable D2 happened sometime mid-morning, starting from the SW ridge of Ben Lomond at 9600ft on a SE aspect ca. 40 degrees (not measured; based on prior terrain familiarity). I'd hoped to get a closer photo, but that didn't end up being in the cards. Best guess is that the very high density snow slid on the stout, slick crust as a bed surface. In addition to the large increase in load, the warm temps, a some sun, and maybe a bit of green housing probably contributed to the release.

A few narrower releases converged to make two other paths, one releasing at 8800ft SE and the other at 7900ft SE.