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Avalanche: Wilson Chutes

Observer Name
mark white
Observation Date
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Region
Salt Lake » Mill Creek Canyon » Wilson Fork » Wilson Chutes
Location Name or Route
Wilson Chutes
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
36°
Trigger
Unknown
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
Unknown
Width
200'
Vertical
500'
Comments

There were actually three different slides in the Wilson drainage, the first one looked to be animal triggered with animal tracks going in at the top and coming out of the debris at the bottom, this one was about 200ft wide and ran about 500ft, not sure of the timing. The second one occurred around 12:30 it was in the far left chute and could have been triggered by a ski cut as we saw someone headed that way on our first run on the Nipple. It looked to be around 60ft wide and ran 800ft. the last one was in Wilson Glade, not sure of the dimensions being that it was a long way away and in the shade but it looked like it went wall to wall with a fairly deep crown it might have been triggered by the same person because it occurred around the same time.

Photos: the first slide that was there when we arrived, the last photo is the slide that ran around noon, in the skiers left chute and in the background you can see the crown in the glade if you zoom in.