Observer Name
CADAMS
Observation Date
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Avalanche Date
Thursday, February 23, 2023
Region
Ogden » Lewis Peak Area » Pine Creek
Location Name or Route
CROWSNEST; Nordic Valley, Back Country, Pine Creek USFS
Elevation
6,600'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Skier
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
19"
Width
200'
Comments
SS-AS-R4-D2-I
6600' Elv/ N Aspect/ appx. 45 degree slope/ Thick Veg/ Very Sheltered
20230223; NVSP Patrollers Ski Cutting in Pine Creek near NV/USFS boundry Triggered Soft Slab at the Storm Interface, 19in avg depth, 60+ meters at widest part of path, 95+ meters lenght,(Google Earth) ran full length of path to creek bed below, carrying at moderate speed through THICK vegataion to terrain trap. Largest/deepest recorded avalanche for NV Ski Patrol to date in Pine Creek Zone. Few red flags observed on routes previouse to this.
Comments
Forecaster Comments: I went up to investigate this avalanche with local and long time avalanche professional Doug Wewer, along with NV ski patrol and operations. Thanks for their hospitality.
This avalanche was triggered by a ski cut by one of their patrollers in their backcountry terrain. Very steep rollover, approaching 45° along the crown. Dimensions as described above. It failed on decomposing stellar dendrites above a pencil hard wind slab bed surface. We were able to trigger small bits of hangfire above and adjacent to the crown...and columns would fail on isolation. No collapsing was observed. Hardesty
Coordinates