Observer Name
Nathan Chaszeyka
Observation Date
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Silver Fork » Meadows
Location Name or Route
Silver Fork, Meadow Chutes
Elevation
9,600'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
13"
Width
100'
Vertical
1,250'
Snow Profile Comments
Due to unsafe conditions, we were unable to gather any snow profile data from the crown.
Comments
Shooting cracks and collapsing had occurred in several locations prior to triggering this slide so our guard was up.
While skinning on the ridge proper, we triggered this slide skinning above a wind loaded area. It started as a shooting crack across the width of the area that slide and was accompanied by a large settlement. The snow shifted, hung up momentarily then quickly gathered momentum and flushed the full run of the slide path.
The weak layer appeared to be the new/old snow interface from the 1/6 storm.
