Avalanche: Brighton

Observer Name
B
Observation Date
Friday, April 17, 2020
Avalanche Date
Thursday, April 16, 2020
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton
Location Name or Route
Upper BCC: Pioneer Bowl, Martha Bowl, and Elevator Shaft
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Unknown
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
Unknown
Width
Unknown
Vertical
Unknown
Comments
These three avalanches appeared to happen on Thursday and to this point have gone unreported. See Photos 1 and 2: Elevator Shaft/Mt. Millicent, NE. This appeared to be triggered by a Snowboarder as he/she cut across the top part of the Chute. The slide was approximately 500 feet wide and ran at least 800 feet. See Photos 3 and 4: Martha's Bowl, NNW. This was a Natural and it went wall to wall, 750 feet wide and ran 350 feet. See Photo 5: Pioneer Main Chute. This appeared to human triggered and the only crown visible was the right flank, yet the debris was obviously indicating at least a D1.5. All of these slides appeared to match the activity and Avalanche Problem Type observed over the past 24 hours. And these all appear to likely have a Persistent Weak Layer issue directly above the previously formed pre-storm m/f crust.