Aspen
AvalancheAnonymous · Apr 1, 2023 · Aspen
Weather
Clear, mid to upper teens, winds WSW 18 mph gusting to 28 mph.
Snowpack
Bottomless facets in shallow rock zones walking out ridge, no other snow pack pack observations made because we were only about 100 meters from the ski area and we did not observe the snowpack on the slope where the avalanche occurred.
Avalanche
I was walking on the rock ridgeline with the cornice to my left and lee slope to my right. While stepping on large rocks one of my left pole plants remote triggered a large and loud cornice break/crack. The initial break occurred about 15 feet away from me and then cracked toward me and away from me. I was in a safe stance and did not have to make any movements to avoid the cracking and cornice fall, but the sensitivity of the crack/break and the fact that I was very very far from the edge took me by surprise. Good reminder to always give cornices, no matter the weather or conditions, an incredibly and sometimes stupidly wide berth. The avalanche was a HS-ACr-R1-D2-I that ran approx 2,800'.