Observer Name
Neil Provo
Observation Date
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, January 24, 2017
Region
Uintas » Mirror Lake Highway
Location Name or Route
Mirror Lake Highway
Elevation
9,000'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Snowboarder
Trigger: additional info
Intentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
Surface Hoar
Depth
15"
Width
40'
Vertical
60'
Comments
While powsurfing in bench-like terrain, avalanches were easily triggered on top of convex rolls with the slightest human input. I suspect they were sliding on surface hoar and/or buried facets. It was spotty as the snow was stable in some places, and very sensitive in other spots. I saw 5 natural avalanches that probably ran during the storm ranging from 30-80ft wide, all on northeast facing slopes between 8000-9500ft. The terrain we were riding was pretty low angle with steep spots in between, and it was predictable where the slabs would be touchy. In bigger terrain with more vertical this depth of slide could do serious damage.
