Avalanche: Little Willow

Observer Name
Hardesty, Rich, Wilson and Bailey
Observation Date
Monday, February 4, 2013
Avalanche Date
Friday, February 1, 2013
Region
Salt Lake » Lone Peak » Little Willow
Location Name or Route
No Name Glade 1
Elevation
9,600'
Aspect
North
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Unknown
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
15"
Width
175'
Comments

Went looking for this avalanche that caught and carried a person skinning through the trees yesterday (Sunday Feb 3). Found two others along the way. These two twins are - from the top of No Name - just east down the ridge and I suspect were triggered remotely from the ridgeline on Sunday as well (previous skin track along the ridge as well as plenty of snowpit? activity along the ridgeline as well).

And I thought Mt Aire had weak snow. This is by far the weakest snowpack I've seen in the entirety of the Wasatch. Both failed on the early January faceted layer (buried by rime, etc Jan 8). Total depths were just around three feet with the new storm slab sitting on facets and more facets - the more well developed squares 1mm+ from early Jan.

My attempt at a GoPro video...you might need some Dramamine...and I mistakenly referred to them as wind-loaded...which they are not so much...it was mostly just being overloaded by last week's storms...and water weight.

Video
Coordinates