Oliver Twist / Orphan Avalanche

Quick report

Weather

sunny, warm, wet

Climb Name

Oliver Twist

Ice Quality

terrible

Avalanche

Run Length

400

Slab Width

20

Trigger Type

natural

Avalanche Size

2

Start Zone Aspect

S, SE

Start Zone Incline

37

Avalanche Character

looseWet

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

2260

Runout Zone Elevation

1910

Avalanche Observation

12hrsAgo

Start Zone Elevation Band

tln

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2026-04-05T20:50:00.000Z

Started rather late (~12:30pm) to check out how Oliver Twist (WI3) is baking in the sun and maybe get up the Orphan. Can confirm that OT is indeed baking. Noted snow was isothermal and pinwheeling and rockfall were worsening in the hot sun (thermo said 5C) so abandoned the idea of summiting the Orphan. Got a few soggy TR laps in on drippy ice/slush when the sound of a wet slide broke the silence (~2:46pm) and signalled time to go. Looking around revealed that the runout climbers left of OT had gone and buried the approach tracks. This runout went clearly between cairns marking the OT/Orphan approach and was 1m to 2m deep. It likely was point triggered far above by falling rocks. Or human presence disturbed the feng shui. Regardless, subtle clouds moved in and the valley quieted down some during egress. Keep your head on a swivel out there in the hot afternoon sun - if loud music is playing or conversation is engaging, I can see this quickly catching someone off guard.