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Avalanche: West Desolation Ridge

Observer Name
Hardesty, Wilson, Torrey, Diegel
Observation Date
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Avalanche Date
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D North » West Desolation Ridge
Location Name or Route
West Deso Ridge #2
Elevation
9,600'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Remotely Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
16"
Width
200'
Comments

Prior to remotely triggering both slides, the four of us dug into what was seemingly representative terrain, with three of the four ECT tests showing no results (ECTN). One of the tests elicited an ECTP27 into old pre-Christmas faceted snow.

Demonstrates that test results are only a single tool in the tool box in assessing slope stability and certainly far inferior to the other red flag clues.

Comments

photos: Bo Torrey

Coordinates