Avalanche: Short Swing 1/21/2012

Observer Name:

Luther Birdzell

Observation Date:

01/24/2012

Occurrence Date:

01/21/2012

Occurrence Time:

3:00pm

Region:

Salt Lake
Big Cottonwood Canyon
Mill D North
Short Swing

Location Name:

Short Swing Ridgeline

Avalanche Characteristics

Elevation:

Unknown

Aspect:

Northwest

Trigger:

Skier

Trigger: additional info:

Intentionally Triggered

Cornice Triggered

Avalanche Type:

Hard Slab

Weak Layer:

Facets Below Crust

Depth (avg):

Width:

500'

Vertical:

150'

General Comments

My partner deliberately triggered this slide by dropping a small cornice into north west side of the top of short swing. A crack propagated roughly 300m and triggered a hard slab avalanche that slid into the trees. I'm not sure how far the slide went, but it was strong enough to break a fair amount of wood. BTW, I apologize for the delay posting this info.