Cirque Forepeak

Quick report

Riding Quality

good

Avalanche

Run Length

20

Slab Width

20

Trigger Type

skier

Avalanche Size

1

Slab Thickness

20

Trigger Sub Type

accidental

Vegetation Cover

openSlope

Crust Near Weak Layer

1

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

2650

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2018-01-06T14:10:00

I triggered a very small slide in a small bowl on Cirque Forepeak. We were still on the approach and had to descend the bowl and climb the other side to reach our objective. The descent and ascent were maybe 20 m. I made the mistake of heading straight across an untouched slope while still in tour mode (splitboard) and the fresh snow crumbled and slid immediately. This is fairly protected bowl with a slope directly opposite, limiting the runout of the slide. The slide was east-facing but is unlikely to receive much sun because of the higher slope directly across. The slope also was fairly rocky, resulting in a variable snowpack with some visible rocks above. The snow was light and loose, but enough that it took me down with it. The settled snow when it stopped was only about shin deep and I was able to stand up and dust myself off. There were no signs of avalanche danger elsewhere, including our west-facing objective.