Observer Name
MAC
Observation Date
Monday, December 8, 2025
Avalanche Date
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Banana Days
Location Name or Route
Banana Days
Elevation
9,900'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
18"
Width
50'
Comments
"Considerable" is as considerable does, and in this case, UAC's "considerable" rating was supported by widespread collapsing of the snow (on slopes of all degrees of steepness), with shooting cracks running long and fast, severing slabs of roughly 12" to 18" deep. Basically, all the latest storm snow has created somewhat cohesive slabs, just itching to go.
I saw the Banana debris from a distance and skinned over to inspect. It had flushed the first big chute (the least prone to run of the various chutes coming down Banana Days, in my experience). The remaining chutes are all still intact (but I'd put a 100% chance on them sliding). I felt comfortable ascending through the avy path because all of the snow, except for the remaining PWL (aka "garbage layer"), had flushed, running 200+ feet.
I'd heard some friends commenting on how "stable" the snow was yesterday. Based on what I saw and heard today (in a drainage that gets comparatively little wind), I'm not sure I share that optimism. The one true thing is that the dense snow makes for good skiing with limited bottom feeding off rocks/stumps, especially if you're skiing terrain that is mostly grass during the warmer months (yet another reason to take up summer trail running for winter beta...).
Coordinates
