Dave Henry Backcountry

Quick report

Weather

warm

Ride Type

alpineSlopes, mellowSlopes, openTrees

Stayed Away

convexSlopes, steepSlopes

Riding Quality

amazing

Snow Conditions

deepPowder

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSnow

Weather

Avg Temp

-5

Max Temp

-1

Min Temp

-13

Wind Speed

windSpeedLight

Blowing Snow

light

Sky Condition

fewClouds

Snowfall Rate

2

Wind Direction

S

New Snow24 Hours

15

Storm Start Date

2024-02-29

Storm Snow Amount

57

Temperature Trend

rising

Precipitation Type

snow

Snowpack

Depth

185

Obs Type

summary

Site Aspect

NE

Test Fracture

unevenBreak

Site Elevation

2100

Ski Penetration

30

Test Initiation

moderate

Foot Penetration

45

Test Failure Depth

15

Site Elevation Band

alp

Surface Conditions

newSnow

Whumpfing Observed

1

Test Failure Layer Crystal Types

stormSnow

Avalanche

Run Length

150

Slab Width

250

Trigger Type

skier

Wind Exposure

leeSlope

Avalanche Size

2.5

Slab Thickness

250

Trigger Sub Type

remote

Start Zone Aspect

NE

Trigger Distance

75

Vegetation Cover

openSlope

Start Zone Incline

35

Avalanche Character

corniceWithSlab, deepPersistentSlab, looseWet, persistentSlab, stormSlab, windSlab

Crust Near Weak Layer

1

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

2220

Runout Zone Elevation

2100

Weak Layer Burial Date

2024-02-28

Avalanche Observation

12to24hrsAgo

Weak Layer Crystal Type

facets, stormSnow

Start Zone Elevation Band

alp

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2024-02-29T09:00:00.000Z

While transitioning from Open Windslab Rock after observing a Ptarmingan having a snack, I stopped on the Windward side of a bowl at Alpine Elevation. We then witnessed a zig zag crack up to a windloaded new cornice. The entire windloaded ridge came down, intially from the rain layer , than straight to ground. A pit I dug earlier showed a very weak new layer on the Feb 28 15CM down snow layer, with some bonding to the 85CM Rain Layer, which had some movement on a stronger shovel hit. We were across the bowl from the avalanche, it stopped 10M from my skin track. There were also very large settlements (400-500M wide) throughout the day. The slope is historically a danger, and we were correct in staying our distance from it.

Incident

Group Size

3

Terrain Trap

gullyDepression, slopeTransitionOrBench

Group Activity

skiing

Number Involved

0

Number Fully Buried

0

Snow Depth Trigger Point

deep

Terrain Shape Trigger Point

concave

The debris stopped approximately 40 feet from us.