Observer Name
chester
Observation Date
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Avalanche Date
Thursday, January 15, 2026
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton Perimeter » Caribou Basin
Location Name or Route
brighton periefery, caribou basin, the other runs
Elevation
9,700'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
4"
Width
300'
Comments
very small ankle biter avalanche. very thin, very little snow, but quite wide. this area picks up a lot of snow. date coulda been 14th. harder wind slab over facets on a soft crust
i did not find any other sensitivity with wind slabs. below is some guesses, I could def be wrong in guesses. this spot gets lots of wind deposit which makes it hard to decipher so parts below may not be true.
same spot appears to have had a deep avalanche prior and below comments arevon that older avalanche not tiny windcslab. i would guess 1-10-26 based on "B" avy ob in a different spot closer to brighton here:https://utahavalanchecenter.org/avalanche/99487
remains of that avalanche are still visible but crown is not.
the crown on the old avy is not at all visible, unlike crystal palace.
refrigerator chunks which was similar width, but may have been 3' deep based on chunks and ramps up tree from avy debris. chunks could be cornice. avy ran till angle flattened/ not close to full track. for the older avalance, the thin snow in the bed of the old avalanche (40cm vs 120 elsewhere) is faceting below a crust. i suspect conditions are good for repeaters if/when we get a new slab on top. crystal palace, two dogs, maby sunset &hidden valley if rocks keep public from skiing it into submission. new snow is long way off....
Video
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