Observation Date
1/7/2025
Observer Name
Meisenheimer
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Days Fork » Chicken Sh#! Ridge
Location Name or Route
Big Cottonwood / Spruces / Days / CSR / Bailed
Comments
Banana Days and Main Days are untracked and intact (meaning they have not yet avalanched). I'm happy to see this. However, there is no chance I would walk up or underneath any of this terrain, let alone ride it. Given the size of the avalanche in the Draw, I was very nervous in any runout zone (see below).
The Draw ran surprisingly big, given all the terrain and ground roughness. The avalanche reached the summer road, running 2,500 vertical feet. This avalanche ran in the gulley, where the debris was confined, and likely ran with more volume. Given the terrain, this was a small avalanche (large enough to kill you) but small compared to how big this path can run.
Looking at the bed surface, I would bet there is plenty of faceted snow left over, and this will not be the first time this path runs this season.
Lots of settlement since the last storm. Slab is gaining strength. Not to be confused with stability.
Today's Observed Danger Rating
Considerable
Tomorrows Estimated Danger Rating
Considerable
Coordinates