Avalanche: Blue Ice

Observer Name
Buck Ungulate
Observation Date
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Avalanche Date
Thursday, March 21, 2024
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Broads Fork » Blue Ice
Location Name or Route
Blue Ice, Broads Fork
Elevation
9,500'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Glide
Avalanche Problem
Gliding Snow
Weak Layer
Ground Interface
Depth
Unknown
Width
50'
Comments
Spotted a recent glide avalanche on the slabs between Blue Ice and Diving Board. Who is surprised?
Travel: thought we would try to join all the frothy alpine adventurers today, but alas - we ended up in the milk bowl in upper Broads. SSE wind shifting to W blowing in the moderate category, clouds obscuring the high peaks, and even a period of moderate intensity snowfall around 9am had us changing plans. We pivoted to going up and over Halls Crossing to Sidewinder and out Mill B. Fortunately, we found some of the worst skiing I've ever encountered in the Wasatch (okay maybe like third worst)! Just about every challenging snow surface you can imagine.
On the exit we found a poor refreeze starting at around 7,800 ft AND even had some of that precipitation the starts with R and rhymes with Pain. I guess it's spring in the Wasatch!
Coordinates