Step down in upper whitefish
Location Name: Upper Whitefish Observation date: Saturday, March 12, 2022 - 15:00 |
Is this an Avalanche Observation: Yes |
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Observation made by: Public
Tabs
Avalanche Details:
Date and Time of Avalanche:
Saturday, March 12, 2022 - 15:00
Number of avalanches:
2
Avalanche Type:
Soft Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer:
New/old snow interface
Trigger:
snowboarder
Trigger Modifier:
Accidentally Triggered
Aspect:
East
Starting Elevation:
7800
Destructive Size:
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size:
R3 Medium
Crown Height:
3 ft
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run):
650ft.
Avalanche Width (Average width):
200ft.
Number of people caught:
0
Number of partial burials:
0
Number of full burials:
0
Snowboarder unintentionally triggered a 6-8inch wind slab while dropping into a line at 7800ft on an east face. It propagated roughly 20 yards out underneath the rocks at the entrance to the line and ran over the small cliffs below. On impact underneath the cliffs, a slab propagated another 20-30 yards in both directions and stepped down resulting in a 3-4 ft crown beneath the cliffs. Debris piled on the lake below was heavy enough to crack the ice. No one was caught or injured.