Utah Avalanche Center

Crown face of snowboarder triggered avalanche that occurred on 12-19-2016. Crown depths ranged from 2 feet to 10 feet. Average was probably 4 feet. Width was 730 feet. Maximum vertical was 1,100 feet. US classification of this avalanche is HS-AR-R3-D3-G

We dug this pit on our approach to the crown of a deep slab avalanche triggered by a snowboarder.

Pretty sheltered down in Stump Hollow, but I could see some drifting up higher.

High thin clouds.

Snowpack is surprisingly solid despite an ECTP22 near the ground. There are very few layers to find in the snowpack. The layer at 90 was settling fast, and we noticed a big difference in our track penetration by the end of the day. In many places this layer is not a concern. In other places, probably places where you are more likely to hit a rock with your snowmobile, the facets near the ground are probably worse.

All our snowpits looked similar and had similar depth. There was widespread natural activity on the layer at 95cm. Both at ridgetops under cornices and at lower non-wind loaded locations. The facets near the ground are likely worse in some places. In all our other snowpits they looked better and were stonger. Overall the snowpack looks pretty good. With tonights snow, it will most like produce more avalanches at the 95cm layer. With such a large load forecasted, there will likely be places where avalanches step down, but this will not be a widespread issue.