Observer Name
Anonymous
Observation Date
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Avalanche Date
Thursday, February 12, 2026
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton Perimeter
Location Name or Route
Lake Martha
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
12"
Width
50'
Caught
1
Carried
1
Comments
Short but alarming catch-and-carry today by the lead skinner while trying to cross a steeper pitch. We realized we had taken a bad skinner, and while we had noted reactive slabs, we hadn’t had any collapsing or shooting cracks in this localized terrain. Good wake-up call to respect the mountains and snow// should have just skied down and started a better skinner through low angle terrain.
Rocks that uncover during these slides are a big concern, but there could be enough snow here in this wind-loaded zone to bury someone in bigger terrain.
We also saw a similar crown on the popular Sunset peak, down low.
