Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Feb 6, 2015 · Front Range
Weather
Clear skies, high winds, warm temperatures. Skiing lookers left of main bowl - northeast aspect slope. Elevation ~11,000 ft.
Snowpack
Wind loading on leeward side of bowl. 250 cm deep snowpack near skiied area. Extended column test showed lack of cohesion between storm slab and early January snow. No propagation during ECT test.
Avalanche
The observed avalanche in Hot Dog Bowl was a hard slab avalanche (R2-D2). The avalanche initiated at a convexity at the top of the slope. Rock outcrops were visible mid-slope. The wind slab failed first and eventually triggered the failure of a deeper persistent slab. The slide was skier-triggered - the skier was carried but not buried. Crown height for the wind slab was 85 cm and the crown for the persistent slab was 100 cm. Large depth hoar crystals (~3-4mm) were observed on bed surface after the slide.