Avalanche: Chugach State Park

Location: Southwest slope towards Harp Mountain

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

Snowboarder triggered an avalanche on the southwest-facing slope, on the ridge towards Harp Mountain.

Contact, Location & General Observations
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Forecaster Comments

This avalanche was noted by several other groups in the area who have posted reports on this observation page. One group performed a beacon search in the debris as they saw the debris covered part of an uptrack. Another person measured the slope angle at 30 degrees.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger SnowboarderRemote Trigger Yes
Avalanche Type UnknownAspect South Southeast
Elevation 3500ftSlope Angle 32deg
Crown Depth3ftWidth 50ft
Vertical Rununknown  
Avalanche Details

The crown broke about 10 feet down from where the snowboarder made a stop at the top of the ridge. We noticed a hairline crack a couple feet above where he stopped (essentially he was in between the crack and the crown). The snow on the surface was fairly soft and seemed wind loaded. The snow on the track up was a thin wind crust. Rough slope angle measurement from the bottom was 30°-32°.

Slab that slid had a very noticeable weak layer, which more than likely was just under the recent snowfall this week. Estimated 50 foot wide (at the narrowest), 3 foot deep, and ran to all the way to the bottom.

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
Observer Comments

We noticed 3 recent natural avalanches from Harp peak. One being quite large and maybe 1-2 days old. Another was small and up towards the top that looked to be <1 day old. The 3rd was one that was similar to the small one, and had happened at some point between us arriving (~10am) and leaving (~12pm).

Weather & Snow Characteristics
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Weather

20 degrees, trace wind.

Snow surface

Wind crust

Photos & Video
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