Avalanche: Talking Mt. Cirque

Observer Name
Trenbeath
Observation Date
Monday, March 18, 2024
Avalanche Date
Friday, March 15, 2024
Region
Moab » Talking Mt. Cirque
Location Name or Route
Talking Mountain Cirque NE Face
Elevation
11,400'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Natural
Trigger: additional info
Repeater
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
Unknown
Width
500'
Vertical
500'
Comments
This avalanche occurred mid-storm cycle that ran from March 13-17. It likely occurred sometime between March 15-16 when 12" - 15" of new snow had fallen accompanied by a period of strong and sustained, SE-NE winds. This was the first major storm event in over a month. The cycle ended on March 17 with 21" of total snowfall at 2.4" SWE. On Sunday, March 17, numerous natural wind slab avalanches 1'-2' deep were observed on N-NE aspects near and above treeline, but this avalanche appeared to be a day or so older and had been filled back in. At first glance it appeared to be just features associated with wind drifted snow. Closer observation on March 18 revealed that it was likely a large persistent slab avalanche that failed on basal facets. This is a repeat running avalanche that first ran on Feb 3, (see report here). This recent avalanche, however, appears to have exceeded the boundaries of the earlier slide.
Coordinates