Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 122 m
- Weak Layer
- Facets
- Trigger Type
- Natural
- Vertical Fall
- 15 m
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 15 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- East
- Avalanche Problem
- Wet Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2652 m
This is one of the most interesting avalanches that I've seen in a while. This road cut is one of the usual suspects and this slope releases regularly. The set up here was wind had drifted snow and formed a large slab. Usually, the slab releases during the wind loading. This was different. This released after the wind loading was done and when warmer temperatures effected the snowpack. The snowpack was entirely wet and saturated. The weak layer was very loose wet facets.
The fracture line was only about 6 inches deep. It was interesting how it pulled back into quite flat terrain on the ridge.
The snowpack was almost unstupportable on skis. I was sinking deep into very loose wet facets. I experienced collapsing (whumpfing) of the snowpack as I was investigating the slide. I was still able to initiate cracking up on the crown getting the wet slab to break into the wet facets.
While the fracture line was only about 6" deep, I believe the drift was much deeper down off the ridge. It had to be to produce this much debris in such a short sliding distance.