March Kicks Off Our Spring Campaign- Donate Now to Support Forecasting

Avalanche: Mt Olympus

Observer Name
eb
Observation Date
Friday, March 7, 2025
Avalanche Date
Friday, March 7, 2025
Region
Salt Lake » Mt Olympus
Location Name or Route
Mt. Olympus
Elevation
8,700'
Aspect
South
Trigger
Hiker
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Depth
12"
Width
Unknown
Caught
1
Carried
1
Comments
I was tracking out Olympus as I've done many times and had just gotten to the summit scramble section (still below the crux). I noticed the snow cracking a bit around me and stopped for a moment to assess what was happening. Just as I did, I heard a whoompf and looked up and saw a wall of snow coming down. I don't know where it started but I had enough time to think about staying on top of a slide and punching up if it went over my head. Because I was tracking it out, I was already in snow up past my knees and so it didn't take much to knock me off my feet. It carried me back down a bit - probably not more than 5-10 feet though it felt farther. I was easily able to stay on top of it and just slid down the mountain with it. I didn't get a good look at the aftermath because I was sufficiently spooked and didn't want stick around. Because this trail was melted to the rocks in the thaw last week, I think it was just the new snow coming down in the slide, but there was plenty of heavy new snow it to make it a dangerous slide.
Coordinates