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Avalanche: Kessler Peak

Observer Name
Paradis
Observation Date
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Avalanche Date
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Kessler Peak
Location Name or Route
Kessler
Elevation
9,000'
Aspect
East
Trigger
Skier
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Weak Layer
New Snow
Depth
Unknown
Width
Unknown
Vertical
700'
Comments

We noticed this skier tiggered slide on an East facing slope off Kessler Peak from the Days Fork ridgeline. The sound of snow cascading over the cliffs towards the bottom of the run actually alerted us to this slide. Two tracks were observed leading into starting zone and on closer inspection skiers were able to traverse off the slope. From our perspective the depth of the slide was unclear. The slide was not all that wide but getting caught in this spot could have resulted in a ride over a large cliff band.

Sluffing in new snow was common yesterday and the morning sun probably helped make the new snow move easily.

Coordinates