Avalanche: Depth Hoar Bowl

Observer Name
Paradis / Caplis
Observation Date
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Avalanche Date
Friday, January 10, 2014
Region
Salt Lake » Mill Creek Canyon » Alexander Basin » Depth Hoar Bowl
Location Name or Route
Depth Hoar Bowl
Elevation
9,600'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
35°
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow
Depth
6"
Width
250'
Vertical
500'
Comments

Noted a soft slab in Depth Hoar bowl that appeared to start as maybe 6" wind slab. As it ran, it appeared to entrain a good amount of snow, leaving a decent debris pile above the small trees towards the bottom of the slope. We couldn't see if it stepped down or not but the size of debris relative to the initial avalanche suggests this could have happened. The small wind slab was also quite wide and extended quite a way along the ridge line. Cornices were quite large in this area so the avalanche could have been triggered by falling cornice or just wind overloading the new snow. I'd estimate it as SS-N-D2-R2. I wasn't able to get a good photo of this particular avalanche but photos in the Yellowjack observation are representative.