UDOT PLANNED AVALANCHE CLOSURES!!

Avalanche: Willows

Observer Name
Glew
Observation Date
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Willows
Location Name or Route
Willow fk
Elevation
9,500'
Aspect
South
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
12"
Width
200'
Vertical
150'
Comments

We were downhill tunneling in upper east Willow fork today and found instablity at the small rollover toward the bottom of the slope. The first person in got a section of the slope to release. The density inversion and a rouge telemark skier caused the failure. The avalanche was wider than we first thought. Upon exmaination, we found the crown weaving itself through the aspen trees and bushes a couple hundred feet wide and about a foot to a foot and a half deep! It also sympathetically released a few small pockets totally seperate from the initial slide. The main avalanche didnt run very far because the runout zones slope angle decreased quickly into an aspen grove. I bet some of the steeper slopes went big today?

Coordinates