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Avalanche: Wolverine Cirque

Observer Name
John Mletschnig, P. R.
Observation Date
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Wolverine Cirque
Location Name or Route
Lower Wolverine Bowl
Elevation
10,300'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
12"
Width
200'
Vertical
250'
Comments
Slab seemed to fail on a density inversion in the new snow just above the old snow interface. Wind likely added some stiffness to the slab but the slope was not tremendously loaded. Ski cut was preformed higher on the slope where the slope was approximately 35 degrees where shooting cracks appeared and triggered the slide another 50' down slope where it was a touch steeper. The slide then propagated up and around the corner cleaning out the next chute skiers right as well. Triggered another similar avalanche above Lake Martha on a East aspect on a slope that was perhaps a bit more loaded (18'' deep, 100' wide, sorry no photo due to very poor visibility). This slide was triggered from about 100' above the roll and slid and had a far more firm bed surface which it ran on. All in all both were fairly predictable avalanches given the inversion in the new snow, the wind, intense precipitation, and shooting cracks observed in the time leading up to them both. Stability was Poor.
Coordinates