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Avalanche: Silver Fork Headwall

Observer Name
Cody Hughes
Observation Date
Friday, January 29, 2021
Avalanche Date
Friday, January 29, 2021
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver Fork » Silver Fork Headwall
Location Name or Route
Silver Fork Head Wall
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
3'
Width
125'
Vertical
200'
Comments
This avalanche was a natural SS-N-D2. Meaning it was large enough to catch, carry, and bury a human. The avalanche was about 100-150' wide and 2' - 3.5' deep. It likely failed on the old snow surface (faceted snow) that was buried on Jan 23rd. This slope is also likely to be heavily wind loaded due to the southerly winds that have been non-stop over the past couple of days.
Coordinates