Observer Name
Derek
Observation Date
Friday, March 20, 2020
Avalanche Date
Friday, March 20, 2020
Region
Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Little Pine
Location Name or Route
Little Pine
Elevation
Unknown
Aspect
Southwest
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Avalanche Problem
Wet Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
Unknown
Width
Unknown
Comments
Lunch time movement up Little Pine, hoping to find good snow up high before the sun baked the southern aspect. Snow on the apron was heavy but not excessively wet and seemed to have bonded with the current snowpack.
Halfway up, at 9,200', we observed a large debris field with large blocks of snow. The debris field was over one meter deep in spots, the width of the couloir, and deposited over fifty meters. It appears the west/southwest facing slabs became heated and sloughed the new snow into the main couloir.
Approx 100 meters above the beginning of the slide path, we observed normal ski turns from the dawn patrol crew, leading us to believe the avalanche started on observer right, west facing. We also observed a few small trees and branches that looked freshly broken, that likely would have not come from the main couloir.
After a quick beacon and visual check of the debris field, we bailed and skied the creamy powder back to the road. With the sun coming out and warmer temperatures persisting, we assessed the situation and determined the risk of another slide to be probable and not worth pinpointing the avalanche start.
Coordinates