Avalanche: Silver Fork Headwall

Observer Name
Jake Hutchinson
Observation Date
Monday, December 21, 2015
Avalanche Date
Monday, December 21, 2015
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver Fork » Silver Fork Headwall
Location Name or Route
West Fork of Silver Fork, Headwall
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
North
Slope Angle
39°
Trigger
Natural
Trigger: additional info
Cornice Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
12"
Width
35'
Vertical
200'
Comments

A small pocket, failing on the rime crust. Appears triggered by cornice fall, but hard to be 100% sure as things were filling in so quickly today. Lots of cracking and a few large collapses as we walked the ridge, but no other avalanches. Stability tests continue to indicate we teeter in the balance between scary unstable and a massive avalanche cycle. The timing of this storm event on this snowplack is a little unsettling with the Holidays around the corner and so many people with time off.

Comments

Quick Vid from West Bowl today, one of the more pleasant days I've had in the Wasatch in many years!! Nice to see winter return and give students some real learning decsions.

Video
Coordinates