Vail & Summit County
AvalancheDrew Gibson · Jan 9, 2014 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
NNE aspect at 11,776ft light snow light West winds. 24hrs 3" of 3.3% snow overnight with light winds. 48hrs 7" with tapering moderate winds.
Snowpack
NNE aspect. Widespread thick hard slabs overlying basal facets. Areas adjacent to observation point slide Size D3 in the last week with explosives work. In the starting zones (~12230') basal facets were the weak layer, but the lower areas (~11,850) failed on Surface Hoar and in some places did not step down to basal facets.
Avalanche
A large explosive charge on the aforementioned NNE aspect at 11,776'. Explosive triggered in a previously un-worked area. The slide was released remotely from adjacent from the explosive placement. The area around the charge cracked up and slightly moved. The crown was on average 1 meter deep. HS-AEr-R1-D2-O, we guessing this ran on buried surface hoar. We were unable to go do a profile due to the hang fire. As we approached the edge of the path to inspect the crown face, a large collapse occurred and some of the hang fire snapped off roughly 30m away. Slope angle ~25 degrees at slide. The cracks in the area above the slide also opened up and the slab moved more. This can be considered a Post Control Release.