Avalanche: Upper Horse Creek

Observer Name
Trenbeath
Observation Date
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Region
Moab » Upper Horse Creek
Location Name or Route
Old Reliable - NE Face Pre Laurel Ridge
Elevation
11,400'
Slope Angle
35°
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
3'
Width
500'
Vertical
1,000'
Comments

Prolonged strong westerly winds and incremental snow storms between Dec 18, and Dec 23 produced wind slab on top of wind slab until breaking point was reached. Prior to the light snowfall of 4" on the 18th, starting zones had been severely scoured out with only 12" -18" of faceted and wind crusted snow left on the ground. 2' of snow accumulated during the 5 day period with the last 15" coming in with 1.75" of water between the 22nd and 23rd. Failure was on facets near the old, wind crusted surface.

Coordinates