Observer Name
Pagnucco, Weed
Observation Date
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Avalanche Date
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Region
Logan » Logan River » Tony Grove » Beginner Ridge exit
Location Name or Route
Beginner Ridge
Elevation
8,400'
Aspect
North
Slope Angle
39°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
2'
Width
300'
Vertical
300'
Comments
Our goal today was to avoid steep slopes and see just how much water weight we were adding to the snowpack. Travel was difficult and new snow was inverted. We observed very heavy PI and strong winds swirling in all directions for the duration of the afternoon. The new snow (about 12-16" settled and counting) incorporated a lot of graupel, making for fast-turning conditions on low-angle slopes. We had no concerns of hitting buried objects.
We found poor snowpack structure in our pit, though the early season facets are getting deeply buried.
As we descended a low-angle ridge to exit, we remotely triggered this avalanche to the skier's left about 50 feet away where the slope faces slightly more northerly and steepens to about 39 degrees. The debris ran into a thick stand of trees at the bottom of the slope.
Video
Coordinates
