Vail & Summit County
AvalancheJack Norton · Jan 17, 2014 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
11,700' few clouds, light wind in valley, intense at ridgetop SE aspect warming rapidly.
Snowpack
Varying 10cm-100cm. wind slab on top of multi-layered CO snowpack. Crown was 120cm on E side of loaded gully feature, 20cm fist DH up to 10 cm pen crust with 25 cm. 4F FC above, 1F DF to 80cm, 4F DF to 100cm, F PP to 120 cm. STV/80&45/SC(simultaneous) CTVSC/115 CTESP/16 on 10 cm pen crust(bed surface)
Avalanche
We remote triggered 4 avalanches from valley floor. Slides were spaced out over .75 mile all on SEish aspect at 11 am 11,500' to 11,700'. The 2 lower were close together with small snow/tree covered ridge between. The upper 2 slides were .5 mile up valley from 1&2 with significant bare ground between #3 Bottom 1&2 are R3/D2, 3rd. going up is R4/D3, 4th upper is R2.5/D3. 1&2 have 2 meter dep.pile, #3 had no ground W/ 3 meter probe, #4 has 3 meter dep. pile. We triggered from under #2, it sounded like a bomb, I had the best vantage point, was stopped at the time. Saw # 2 collapse and run, noticed #1 a few second's later when I saw the debris moving through the trees to my left. 1 minute later looked up valley to my right and noticed #4 about .5 mile away. When we went back up valley to look at #4 we found #3. #3 moved as a cohesive 40' by 40' slab, 2 meter deep in the middle tapering to the edges, it never broke up, just cracked and appeared to push under the windslab snow below it, buckling the lower snow up into large cracked hump's (photo's). #4 took out large portion of middle traverse to no name glades.