Avalanche: Upper Weber Canyon

Observer Name
Craig Gordon
Observation Date
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Avalanche Date
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Region
Uintas » Upper Weber Canyon
Location Name or Route
Upper Weber Canyon
Elevation
9,500'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
35°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow
Depth
10"
Width
100'
Vertical
400'
Comments
Road cuts and gully features like in the image above, were hyper-reactive midday as snowfall rates spiked
Snow doesn't like rapid change and that was glaringly apparent as todays storm settled in and lit up the eastern front, rapidly stacking up 10" of snow in a matter of a couple hours (17" storm totals since 17:00 hrs 3-22)
Snowfall reaching nearly 5" an hour produced very tender shallow soft slabs which went from ridiculously easy to initiate, to hair trigger in just a matter of minutes as winds bumped just a titch... into the teens and low 20's. These were generally benign and very predictable avy's. This was not only a special day to be out and about with a super solid crew, it was truly an amazing meteorological event to witness!
Comments
Over-the-hood and over-the-head.... avy-savvy, snow-pros Dave Kikkert and Andy Nassetta implementing some throttle therapy whilst product testing in a big open meadow.