Avalanche: GE Hill

Observer Name
Matt Selman/Matt Cline
Observation Date
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Region
Skyline » Fairview Canyon » Blind Fork » GE Hill
Location Name or Route
Lineer Ridge, North Face
Elevation
9,700'
Aspect
North
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Cornice Fall
Depth
20"
Width
Unknown
Vertical
Unknown
Comments
The photo below is one of many big cornice falls all over the high ridges of the Skyline over the weekend. We photographed this one and probably could have photographed 10-15 more while we were out. There were a even snowmobilers' highmarks directly under mammoth cornices on severely wind-loaded slopes but we didn't see anything that had cut loose. They got lucky I guess. We also noted what looked to be a large but relatively shallow slab crown on the steep east face of one of the peaks at the head of Rolfson Canyon, but the evening sun shadowed the face and made observation and photography difficult. Mixed messages from the Skyline then--a large natural slide on a steep east-facing slope WITHOUT any apparent cornice break, and several large cornice breaks that didn't seem to produce any slab activity on similar slopes and aspects. Tricky.
Coordinates