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Avalanche: Reynolds Pk

Observer Name
S Elliott Kern
Observation Date
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Avalanche Date
Thursday, February 2, 2023
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Reynolds Pk
Location Name or Route
Reynolds Peak
Elevation
9,300'
Aspect
Southeast
Trigger
Unknown
Depth
2'
Width
100'
Vertical
Unknown
Comments
I started my ski tour at 4:40pm ascending, starting from Reynold's Gulch, the ridge that runs N/S between Reynolds peak and Tom's Hill. My end goal was 8500' on the ridge. I did not go to the top of Reynolds to assess the avalanche due to my belief there were no skier tracks entering the slide, as well as my lack of time. Could have been a remote trigger from the tracks on either side, or a remote trigger - tough to say without going to inspect the slide up close. Snow quality on SE face was wet, heavy, and seemingly clumped together like large crystals. My thought is that this aspect at this elevation had crusted over from the sun and warm temperatures the last few days, and what I encountered was the crust that melted and started refreezing due to temperatures dropping and sun angle becoming less intense. To close, my expectation is that the slide occurred on the old crust/faceting that has been observed on S/SE aspects 1-2' from the snowpack surface.
Coordinates