Avalanche: Reynolds Peak

Observer Name
Evelyn
Observation Date
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Avalanche Date
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D North » Butler Fork » Reynolds Peak
Location Name or Route
Reynolds Peak, East Face
Elevation
9,400'
Aspect
East
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
18"
Width
150'
Vertical
200'
Caught
1
Comments

Hard to trigger, but an entertaining size once it went. Took cornice kicking and 2 ski cuts, popping out on second person, second hard cut, dropped onto bed surface. Photo of deepest spot.

Heavily wind loaded spot, enough weight to overload one of the several weak layers. Pencil hard slab in places. Relatively small considering the whole slope, with a high stauchwall. Seems to be a good preview to what will happen once we get some more snow and weight on these weak layers.

Comments

Hard slab debris in foreground, soft debris reached the mid slope trees where the arrow is pointing.

Comments

The skier's right flank, less wind loaded. Looking (and feeling with a bare hand) quite carefully, the failure was between 2 very thin crusts, above the November near surface facets. Unable to figure out if there are any sort of faceted grains.

Overall, very impressed with how weak the snow was on north and east between 8,600' and 9,400'. thin crusts, facets, weak layers, pole to the ground sort of stuff everywhere. One decent collapse on ascent.

Coordinates