| Trigger | Cornice | Remote Trigger | No |
| Avalanche Type | Hard Slab | Aspect | Southwest |
| Elevation | 3200ft | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | unknown | Width | unknown |
| Vertical Run | 1000ft |
Avalanche: Turnagain
Location: Magnum PMS Bowl
We took the standard uptrack to PMS bowl up to 3,000 feet and skied low angle terrain on a southwest shoulder.
Avalanche Details
We observed what appeared to be a cornice fall that triggered a wind slab which further entrained storm snow and ran almost all the way to the creekbed between Magnum and Cornbiscuit. The wind slab appeared to fail close to the ground as we saw rocks among the bed surface. We estimate the wind slab crown to be about 25 feet. The crown depth we estimate to be about 4 feet at its deepest. The debris was scattered with large cornice chunks and was predominantly soft storm snow. We are unsure whether there was a storm slab associated with the avalanche or if the debris we saw was simply entrained storm snow.
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observer Comments
We found a glide crack where the standard uptrack usually exists. It is difficult to see from below until you are directly beneath it, especially if the visibility is bad.
Weather
Pleasant until about 1pm when the winds picked up and light precipitation began as tonights storm arrived.
Snow surface
We observed small surface hoar to about 1,400 feet.
Snowpack
We dug a 140 cm deep pit at 3,000 feet on a southwest aspect and got an ECTX. Structure appeared to be right-side-up. We did not note any weak layers.
Cornice and wind slab with debris in the foreground.