Avalanche

Avalanche: Silver Fork Headwall

Kyle MaysSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
9 m
Trigger Type
Skier
Vertical Fall
61 m
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Slab Thickness
30 cm
Trigger Detail
Remotely Triggered
Start Zone Aspect
North
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Start Zone Elevation
3018 m

Me and two others were traversing the Emma ridge. Winds were blowing north consistently around 40 mph. The skier leading the group noticed a shooting crack from his ski that went over a wind drift. As we came over the wind drift we saw the crack had propagated about 30 feet across the slope and had remotely triggered a slab about 20 feet below the edge of the slope. The debris ran roughly 200 feet, but it was hard to tell due to the limited visibility from blowing snow.