Observer Name
Dave Jarvis
Observation Date
Friday, April 14, 2023
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
Region
Provo » Rock Canyon » Dry Fork
Location Name or Route
Rock Canyon Dry Fork.
Elevation
9,300'
Aspect
South
Trigger
Natural
Depth
5'
Width
150'
Comments
There was a hard refreeze both Thursday morning and Friday morning. I headed up Friday to find a nice hard
slab most everywhere. I headed South at the Campground towards the road. Easy walking, following some
Coyote tracks, and some that looked like a Wolverine but smaller. I hit the road and continued for just
over a mile. Not much new on the North West flank of Provo Peak. Some scoured clear ridge, and buried
leeward lips. A couple of small cornices on top of the ridge west of the road.
It clouded up for the next few hours with a chill breeze. 32* to 34*, dandy.
Headed back to the campground area I noticed four slides up Dry fork. The largest was the first gully to the
North in Dry fork. There was a shorter 5' Crown fracture about 9300'. It swept the gully and partly up the sides.
It dropped to the South and made a turn toward the road. The last hundred yards it slid as a large pile of big
blocks and balls. Leaving 15' to 18' on the road then filling 150' or more of the deep gully west of the road.
The debris was over 90' wide. It will be tough to get a sled or snow bike across until it softens up.
In the next shallow draw to the East there was a damp sluff with a small pile of debris.
Further East there is a twofer. At the top of the ridge there is a large boulder. There was a release
just below it that split into two with each shallow avalanche following it's own course. They both
dropped into the Aspens.
These were all probably triggered by late morning solar warming. Tuesday or Wednesday.
I got a good look up Burnt Hollow. There were widespread shallow slides. Point releases and
rollers. Most of it was Westerly to Southwest aspects. Probably a lot of afternoon heat on Wednesday.
Most of the cornices to the East and on the NW ridges of Provo Peak are diminished or missing.
Much of the pack surface lower has what I assume is percolation matrix.
A steep slope Southwest of the campground has a pair of glide fractures opening up.
Coordinates