Avalanche: Chablis

Observer Name
Patterson
Observation Date
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Avalanche Date
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Region
Provo » Provo Canyon » Chablis
Location Name or Route
Timpanogos-Chablis Ridge, Runaway Cliff area
Elevation
9,100'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
40°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Weak Layer
Depth Hoar
Depth
2.5'
Width
400'
Vertical
400'
Comments

Walking up Chablis Ridge of Timp. collapsed and cracked slope on flat ridge at 8800'. Crack shot up ridge and window paned attached slope, shooting snow up through the open cracks.

Comments

Didn't know that we had produced an avalanche until we followed the shooting cracks and got to the slope below Runaway Cliff at 9150' and saw a 100' wide pocket, avg. depth ~1m, that had released. Later we realized that we had pulled out a much larger pocket well below the ridge we were walking. Much of this terrain produced avalanches during the natural cycle mid day on 1/21. This snow had enough of a bridge over the faceted snow to support a larger slab which was waiting for a trigger.

Coordinates