Avalanche: Turnagain

Location: Pastoral

Date:

December 15, 2018 1:00pm

Observer:

Samson Shepherd

Route & General Observations

Skinned up Taylor Creek valley to Taylor Pass and then across to the base of Pastoral. Kept thinking things were going to go blue, but it stayed flat. Ski cut a low angle slope under Pastoral and let loose a 6-10″ soft slab avalanche. Some shooting cracks seen on the skin over Taylor Pass, but no whumpfing. Glide crack seen on Sunburst ridge closer to Taylor Pass. There’s a track set to the base of Pastoral, go ski it.

Avalanche Details

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Trigger	Skier	Avalanche Type	Soft Slab
Aspect	North Northwest	Elevation	3600ft
Slope Angle	unknown	Crown Depth	6in
Width	30ft	Vertical Run	30ft

Avalanche Details

Triggered via ski cut. Soft slab, slow moving.

Red Flags

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Obvious signs of instability

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

Weather & Snow Characteristics

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Weather

Some suckers holes on the Turnagain side of the Taylor Pass, but Pastoral never escaped the flat light.

Photos & Video

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Looking at Pastoral from Taylor Pass.

Soft slab "crown"

The debris didn't slide that far.

Location

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