Surprise debris crossing on the way to Smith Basin

Quick report

jhwilson83 · Feb 13, 2018 · Elkford West

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Quick report

Weather
cold, cloudy
Ride Type
mellowSlopes
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
Good
Snow Conditions
windAffected, powder

Good riding today on all aspects in BTL terrain. We stuck to mellow slopes and did not linger anywhere with overhead hazard. Snow had clearly been heavily wind affected at alpine and tree line as evidenced by wind slab avalanches within the past 48-72 hours, up to size 3 and running full path. We suspect some of these wind slabs had been triggered by cornice fall and then stepped down to the Jan 5 and Dec 15 persistent weak layers. See attached pictures of the start zone, track and deposit.