Avalanche: Emma Ridges

Observer Name
MP
Observation Date
Friday, February 12, 2021
Avalanche Date
Friday, February 12, 2021
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Emma Ridges
Location Name or Route
Emma 1
Elevation
9,800'
Aspect
South
Trigger
Skier
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
7"
Width
60'
Comments
Descending from the Emma ridge I ski cut an unsupported convex slope. Size 1 ran around 200'. Storm slab and loose snow but the surprise in this is that the high humidity this afternoon has quickly consolidated and given slab quality to the 8" of mixed density snow/grauppel that has fallen on the old sun crust. As of now the snow is manageable but specific terrain features and wind transport could definitely produce something capable of burying a skier. If there is another inch of water that falls quickly on top of this, it could yield a highly active storm slab that has some serious potential to bring the hazard up on south slopes.
Coordinates