Avalanche: Wooley Hole

Observer Name
Kobernik
Observation Date
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Region
Provo » Provo Canyon » Timpanogos » Wooley Hole
Location Name or Route
East face of Woolly Hole
Elevation
9,900'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
2'
Width
400'
Vertical
1,000'
Comments
Got a glimpse of this natural from the ridge of the UFO Bowls. Size is estimated but here's what I base it on. I measured 19" of new snow since Saturday night in the UFO Bowls. There was a slight weakness in the low density snow from Saturday which was most likely the weak layer of the avalanche. The Woolly Hole appeared to be getting more wind transport then the UFO Bowls. Since the crown was that visible from that distance it must have been at least 2 feet deep. It was still fairly fresh and I submit that it ran around daybreak during an intense period of snowfall coupled with moderate to strong winds.
There was one class one soft slab natural on a north facing aspect of the UFO Bowls as well. Some evidence of some shallow loose snow activity during the storm as also noted.
Out of wind effected terrain the snow was right side up and stable. We had what I call a "cautious" powder day. I would not have felt good about getting into any big terrain that was wind effected. The wind slabs should continue to stabilize and the focus will shift to heat initiated activity for Wednesday.
Coordinates