Avalanche: Superior

Observer Name
Anonymous
Observation Date
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Avalanche Date
Saturday, April 22, 2023
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Superior
Location Name or Route
South face of superior
Elevation
9,800'
Aspect
Southeast
Trigger
Snowboarder
Depth
4"
Width
150'
Carried
2
Snow Profile Comments
Problem: new snow/slab -4-6in on top of crust from freeze thaw cycle.
Comments
As we were skier were touring, we noticed only new snow problems, that illustrated minimal connectivity. We only encountered sluff through the morning, and felt confident that there would be Minimal propagation ( we were incorrect). We did notice the crust beneath the new snow that was not binding well to the fresh layer on top, but showed minimal signs of connectivity or slab activity (again incorrect). As we skied down to around 9800- 9500 the slope averaged around 30 degrees, but on the skiers left side it increased to 35-40. One skier rode to the steeper slope, and it started to carry him. The second skier was slightly behind him and to the right quickly got carried as well. The third skier was near the crown, and was carried about 15 feet, the other 2 skiers were carried about a quarter of the slope and went over a small cliff band. Luckily everyone was fine and uninjured, we commenced a quick beacon search to make sure no one else was involved, which there wasn't. Glad everyone made it home!