Observer Name
Chase
Observation Date
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Avalanche Date
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Region
Salt Lake » Bountiful
Location Name or Route
Bountiful
Elevation
8,400'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Snowboarder
Depth
12"
Width
40'
Snow Profile Comments
12" wind slab trapped under cornice at top of slope. Slab covered top 40 feet of the upper reaches of this particular drainage.
Downhill from the slab snow pack was right side up with hardness ranging from fist on top to two fingers at base 130cm deep. Extended column test resulted in no propagation.
Comments
We cut two cornices at the top of a drainage feeding into Holbrook Canyon. Each cornice triggered a wind slab that had formed under the cornices after a change in wind direction this past week. Each slide ran 30-40 feet wide and 500 feet long with crowns around 12-14 inches high.
We then descended below where the slabs had shed from and performed an extended column test. The test resulted in an ECTX and we found an upright snowpack.
We concluded that the slabs were limited to the upper reaches of the drainage and that riding was safe if the slabs were shed or avoided.
Coordinates