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Avalanche: Davenport Hill

Observer Name
Chris D
Observation Date
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Avalanche Date
Saturday, November 16, 2024
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver Fork » Davenport Hill
Location Name or Route
BCC > Silver Fork > East Bowl Pass>Davenport
Elevation
9,800'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Skier
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
12"
Width
30'
Vertical
50'
Comments
We skied two similar N-facing gullies off of the ridge between East Bowl Pass and Davenport Hill. The first (higher) seemed to have some wind deposited snow, but made for fun and surprisingly deep if a bit heavy turns. We noted no signs of instability, although the faceted snow near the ground was very obvious. We dug a hasty pit in the meadow below the gully and noted the obvious storm layers and basal facets within the thin 50cm snowpack. On our second lap, we decided to ski a similar gully just 50 yds lower on the ridge and east of the first one. I skied it first and immediately noticed the snow felt much shallower and lighter than in the neighboring gully. I decided to cut across the top of a convexity on the skiers right side of the gully, aiming for a treed flat spot where I could observe my partner. As I was making my cut, I noticed sluffing and a thin layer of more cohesive snow breaking away. As I was finishing my cut, that thin slab seemed to scour the rest of the meager snowpack to the ground, leaving a jagged crown that roughly traced my path. When I stopped, it propagated about a foot in front of my skis and left me standing on mostly bare ground. There wasn't much energy in the slide and it only ran ~50ft, but it could have been more consequential in the presence of a terrain trap or a larger, more connected slope.
Coordinates