Avalanche: west porter

Observer Name
S. Donovan
Observation Date
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Region
Salt Lake » Mill Creek Canyon » west porter
Location Name or Route
West Porter
Elevation
9,200'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
40°
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
10"
Width
250'
Vertical
200'
Comments
Started up Porter Fork road at ~4:30pm and from ~4:45 pm to ~6:00 pm it was snowed heavily, followed by clearing and great views.
Avalanches were failing naturally in steep terrain on a density change within the new snow with the image shown being the largest avalanche that I observed. As others (Simonds) noted, it was difficult to isolate the layer of concern in shovel tilt tests because the soft slab resting on top is not all that cohesive. It appeared to be a 5mm layer of low density stellars ~25 cm below the snow surface at ~6:15 pm. This layer was thick enough that it will likely be a concern at least through tomorrow as the East winds bend back on onto us and do their worst.
Coordinates