Observer Name
Will
Observation Date
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Avalanche Date
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Hogum
Location Name or Route
Hogum Hogback
Elevation
10,500'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow
Depth
8"
Width
40'
Vertical
450'
Comments
Three of us got an early start and were headed into Hogum Fork (from White Pine) to check out the Needle. As we approached Hogum Hogback we noticed ski tracks and soft slab debris, from the day before, beneath the Obelisk. Continuing on, skinning was slippery up the NE end of the Hogback since the new storm snow hadn't bonded well. Remembering skier reports from the day before about soft slabs/sluff and seeing the soft slab debris we ruled out the Needle and decided to test the east face of the hogback. The skin track and initial turns didn't result in any movement of snow, but each skier was able to initiate separate very slow moving soft slab avalanches during each run. Slides were as wide as the tracks and ran the length of the face, but were very manageable on the open face (would not be in a chute). The skiing was top notch, so we decided a 2nd lap was in order to knock the rest of the storm snow off the face.
Coordinates