Avalanche: Park City Ridgeline 4/6/2010

Observer Name: 
Hardesty Hosford and Wright
Observation Date: 
04/07/2010
Occurrence Date: 
04/06/2010
Occurrence Time: 
Unknown
Region: 
Park City Ridgeline
Salt Lake
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Location

40° 37' 30.4536" N, 111° 34' 1.272" W
Avalanche Characteristics
Elevation: 
9800'
Aspect: 
East
Trigger: 
Unknown
Trigger: additional info: 
Sympathetic Release
Avalanche Type: 
Hard Slab
Weak Layer: 
Facets
Depth (avg): 
3'
Depth Range: 
2' to
4"
Width: 
200'
Vertical: 
700'
General Comments

What is often affectionately called 'Radar Love Bowl' along the PC ridgeline - just between the radar towers above South Monitor and Scott Peak.   Cornice release prodded out this hard slab likely toward the end of the storm - as there was only a few inches of snow on the bed surface.  Corners looked pretty sharp.  Looks as if it may have run on the dirt layer but then stepped down to near the ground.  Believe this is a repeater from the January cycle.  Difficult to gauge layering, but saw shrubs poking through in where there was a natural rocky section of the slope.

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General Comments 2

 Other natural activity observed in both West Monitor and Scott Peak.  Perhaps part of South Monitor had naturalled down low in the starting zone at the beginning of the cycle - graupel perhaps?

P4070037.JPG
General Comments 3

 2-3' of settled snow with some healing interfaces between the impulses.  Feel as if this should heal quickly.  Southerly and sunny slopes may pose the most danger with wet activity over the next couple of days.  Interesting control work by PCMR along the Pine Cone ridge - good work by their teams - a southeast facing slope at 9800'.  It brought out two larger avalanches with a single 4# shot that revealed multiple failure planes.  Of interest was part of the 2' slab collapsing a thin melt freeze crust formed over the weekend - and failing on small facets beneath.  These remained active in compression tests but not in ECT tests.  Potential for skiier triggering?  Perhaps.   

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