Observer Name
Justin
Observation Date
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Upper Days
Location Name or Route
Upper Days Fork
Elevation
10,200'
Aspect
North
Slope Angle
37°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
2.5'
Width
25'
Vertical
400'
Comments
Got to the top of the ridge sometime between 10:15 and 10:45. There were two sets of tracks leading skier's right of the trees, where we were planning on going. To get a few turns on untracked snow, the three of us hiked up a few more yards and planned to cut right to the bottom of the bowl. I was aware of the rock band to the right and to go left of it, but didn't notice the band to my left. The first in our group took three or four quick turns before cutting right. I went second, and took two more sweeping turns, the second of which was a jump turn that triggered the slide. I didn't notice it while skiing, just when my friend pointed it out when I got to the bottom.
Comments
I didn't get close enough to the crown to measure it or determine if there was faceted snow between the rocks and new snow. All measurements are estimations. I believe there was faceted snow on the rock band there, which got loaded with new snow (partially wind deposited), and was easily triggered with my turn. Again, I do not know this for sure.
Coordinates