This small pocket slid when my partner climbed up this slope just right of the rocks. What was interesting is that the stauchwall (bottom edge of the slab that released) was even with the bottom edge of the rocks. Below the rocks the snowpack is deeper but also the slope angle quickly lessens.
This slide released on a layer of facets about 3-4 inches beneath an obvious layer of dust. The dust is not a factor but just a good marker and a good way to find the location of these facets. See stripe of dust in the third photo below.
Locals who've been riding in this zone all winter have been avoiding similar terrain on bigger slopes. This slide is demonstrates the wisdom of that choice. Bigger north facing terrain near rock bands will likely produce bigger avalanches. Rocky areas tend to have weaker and more faceted snow. They also have lots of good trigger points.
The buried rock in the pit wall in the photo below is a great example of a good trigger point on a slope.
Earlier in the day, we dug just under Clayton Peak first, found the dust layer, but nothing would break in my tests (ECT). This was an exposed windy location. Perhaps the faceted layer had been stripped off the snow surface before it was buried. Moved to the Rock Garden basin just east of Clayton and just north of Caribou. Dug the pit in the photo below. I purposely performed my ECT's above the rock in the pit wall to simulate being in a shallower rocky area. The ECT broke and propagated after 23 taps (ECTP23).
About 15 minutes after doing this test. My partner shot up the small slope and got this avalanche to break out. It was good confirmation of this avalanche problem and of the validity of my ECT next to the buried rock.
