UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Avalanche: Catchers Mit

Observer Name
Trent Meisenheimer
Observation Date
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Avalanche Date
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Kessler Peak » Catchers Mit
Location Name or Route
Catchers Mitt - East Kessler
Elevation
10,200'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
20"
Width
60'
Vertical
200'
Comments
As we approached for a second lap in the Catchers Mitt a separate party triggered a decent size avalanche off the ridge on their way to the summit. It appears it started as a wind slab/storm slab then after it ran into a thin shallow rocky spot it stepped down into what I believe was old faceted snow. The crown at the wind slab portion was 10-20 inches deep, then at the steeper portion of the slope it stepped down to 3 feet deep in places and about 60 feet wide in total width, running a few hundred feet producing a fairly decent debris pile. The avalanche took out a portion of the skin track and covered ski tracks from earlier in the day. Luckily nobody was underneath at the time it avalanched, as there was about 10-15 people in the area. Busy day in the Wasatch mountains.
Comments
Coordinates