| Trigger | Skier | Remote Trigger | 0 |
| Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | South Southwest |
| Elevation | 2800ft | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | 10in | Width | 100ft |
| Vertical Run | 400ft |
Avalanche: Turnagain
Location: Sunburst
Standard tour up the Sunburst Ridge to 3,200′
Avalanche Details
A skier triggered a soft slab avalanche part way down the Sunburst SW face. Dimensions above. There are still several steep-ish rollovers on the common SW face that were not triggered the day prior. Today, the skier pulled out one of the remaining pockets on this front face. Weak layer was 1cm buried surface hoar.
**There is still plenty of snow to slide to the East toward the weather station.
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | Yes |
Observer Comments
One recent avalanche noted above.
Cracking in the snow was minimal along the ridge but more apparent 100 feet or so off the ridgeline on the SW face.
Weather
Partly cloudy skies, turning sunny in the afternoon with valley fog. Wind was light and variable. No precip.
Snow surface
Soft settled powder.
Snowpack
Buried surface hoar sits 5-10" below the top layer of soft snow from the Nov 17th storm. This layer is responsible for all the avalanche activity. Below the buried surface hoar the snowpack is strong.
Several shallow soft slab avalanches along the West and South face of Sunburst (5-12" thick, 50-300' wide and running far)
Largest slab seen was this one on the SW Sunburst face - looking East toward Pastoral - estimated at ~300' wide, possibly wider.
Snowpack showing the culprit of all these human triggered slides.
Close up of the buried surface hoar looking at a cross section backlit.