I knew this poor snow structure would be a problem, and it is. Very weak near surface facets were preserved by a rime-crust on January 8... The rime-crust is the base of a developing slab sitting on the intact and still very weak early January facets. The classic persistent problem could last a while, and the snowpack is similar on lots of steep slopes in the area....

This large avalanche from over the 2-2/2-3 weekend looks like it was triggered remotely by riders on an adjacent slope around 70' away. The avalanche failed on weak sugary faceted snow that was on the snow surface during high pressure conditions in early January and capped by a widespread rime-crust on January 8. The translucent knife-hard crust preserved the faceted snow underneath and is now the underside of a developing slab on many similar slopes in the Logan Zone....

The scariest thing about this avalanche was imagining the consequences of being caught and dragged through the thick conifer forest below. The debris piled up deeply on the trees and ran violently through a wide swath of forest. The debris wiped out a number of snowboard tracks from Friday and hit the popular Campground area below.

This photo shows lots of tracks in Beginner Bowl above and next to the avalanche.