Observer Name
Mark Oliver
Observation Date
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Region
Salt Lake » Mill Creek Canyon » Little Water
Location Name or Route
Little water peak
Elevation
9,500'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Remotely Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
3'
Width
150'
Comments
Beautiful day and good skiing today on low angle terrain in upper powder park area. In the afternoon we decided to take a stroll up Little Water Peak via Sheep Shit Ridge. Approximately 200 feet from the summit while on the skin track, I felt and heard heavy settling triggering a sympathetic release Avalanche on heavily wind loaded Northeast slope of Little Water Peak. The fracture line was approximately 2-4 feet thick, down to ground, and ran approximately 500 feet to the bottom of the run.
1st photo looking up to Little Water Peak taken prior to the avalanche with old avalanche debris in the background
2nd photo shows a skier standing at about the same location I was standing when the avalanche was triggered. Zoom in and you can see a thin fracture line that starts near the skin track and extends to just above the fracture line
4th photo is taken farther back down the ridgeline to demonstrate the size of the slide
5th photo is looking back down to the original fracture site
A good reminder of how fragile the snow pack is right now
Coordinates