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Avalanche: South Ridge of Beaver Mountain

Observer Name
Erik Syrstad and Ryan Choi
Observation Date
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
Region
Logan » Beaver Mountain Backcountry » South Ridge of Beaver Mountain
Location Name or Route
Beaver Mountain Backcountry
Elevation
8,000'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
45°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Remotely Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
2'
Width
600'
Vertical
600'
Comments
Group of three remotely triggered this large wind slab from about 800 feet away, while skiing the main SE bowl off the south ridge of Beaver Mountain. We had identified a broad, steep rollover on the skier's right side of the bowl as a problem area and chose to descend the far skier's left side of the bowl. I skied first, and at about 8000' noticed a very long crack propagating to the south. About 10 seconds later I saw a large powder cloud racing down the south side of the bowl, very far to the skier's right of my line. On our way back down to Franklin Basin, we had improved visibility and were able to check out the crown, which averaged a bit over 2 feet deep. The bed surface was a prominent sun crust, likely formed Saturday.
Comments
UAC staff Paige and Toby visited the avalanche site on March 1
Video
Coordinates