Dave Garcia photo.

First natural cycle of the season. After an extended dry spell, 12"-20" of snow accompanied by mod-strong SW winds placed a significant load on a shallow and fragile snowpack. Did not get close enough to observe the crown but snowpits dug that day, and up to this point throughout the season, revealed a stratified and faceted snowpack, with the primary layer of concern being a weak layer of loose facets from early November storms sitting on top of a faceted, knife hard, melt-freeze layer formed in late October. We also observed a weak layer higher up in the snowpack that failed with a score of ECTP18, and this could also be the culprit, but due to widespread sensitivity and collapsing on the deeper, faceted layer above the crust at 35cm, I'm inclined to believe that is the weak layer involved here. This avalanche was significantly deeper than the others, which is not uncommon for this path. Deeper slabs often build under the cliffs at this location. I am unclear if the adjacent debris was from the Gravel Pit Knoll avalanche or if it was a separate slide.