Avalanche: Girdwood

Location: Alyeska

Date:

January 2, 2016 9:22pm

Observer:

H. Thamm Professional

Route & General Observations

A gun mission at Alyeska produced several D3 avalanches on Max’s NE face, Shadows, and Headwall, all Northerly aspects. Debris from Max’s Chute ran to International Corner the debris from the Headwall reached Silvertip. A large soft slab trigged by artillery on Headstone initiated a large wet slab at 1800′. See photos below.

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Explosive	Remote Trigger	0
Avalanche Type	0	Aspect	North
Elevation	1800ft	Slope Angle	unknown
Crown Depth	unknown	Width	unknown
Vertical Run	unknown

Red Flags

Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.

Obvious signs of instability

Recent Avalanches?	Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?	No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?	No

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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Weather

Rain and heavy wet snow reached this elevation several times over the last week.
Over 2.5" of water fell within the 24 hours prior to gun mission
Ridgetop winds 20's mph gusting to 50's mph.
Briefly clear skies during gun mission, but snow and winds obscured visibility during day light hours

Photos & Video

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Close up of crown just above Wolverine Trees.

Wet Slab under Headstone zone on Max's on a Northern aspect. Note the rain runnels in foreground.

Location

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