Avalanche: Twin Lakes area

Observer Name
Michael
Observation Date
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Avalanche Date
Monday, April 18, 2011
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Twin Lakes area
Location Name or Route
Sol-Bright Trail
Elevation
9,200'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Snowshoer
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Depth
12"
Width
60'
Vertical
200'
Comments

I had crossed the area on snowshoes earlier in the day. There were two small avalanches observable from Silver Lake area. As a result, I didn't feel comfortable in crossing the Sol-Bright trail in its entirety. I took a few pictures of one of the slides and moved away. I had snowshoed to the lifts at Solitude and as I was returning was startled by this small avalanche to my right heading fairly rapidly in my direction. I was about 10-15 feet into its impending path. I moved quickly out of such and within several seconds the slide moved by obliterating my snowshoe tracks from earlier in the day and continued running into a small stand of aspen nearby. The trees would have likely been problematic had I been caught in the slide's path. The slide was a couple of feet deep and contained some fairly large chunks of snow. The weather was a mixture of sleet/snow/rain with trail breaking very tedious indeed.

Comments

The perspectives pictured are looking up the avalanche path and also across the path. The last picture shows the toe of the avalanche and the adjacent aspens that the avalanche reached to.

Coordinates