Avalanche: Turnagain

Location: Tincan, Sunburst

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

AAS Rec 1 students were on Tincan, Tincan Backdoor, and Sunburst doing field observations.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger SkierRemote Trigger0
Avalanche Type Soft SlabAspect South Southwest
Elevation 1300ftSlope Angle 38deg
Crown Depth 12inWidth 15ft
Vertical Run 20ft  
Avalanche Details

Students triggered avalanches on test slopes around 1,300' on the Sunburst uptrack. The avalanches were small and happening only on 35 degree and over terrain. These were on slopes that were wind loaded with the recent snow. No remote triggers.

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)?Yes
Observer Comments

Wind loading was happening on west, southwest aspects.

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

There was snow accumulating throughout the day. Precip rates were S1 to S2. Temp at 2016' was -2C at 14:02. Freezing line later in the day seemed to be around 400' Winds were not strong but blew generally out of the east.

Snow surface

8" of new snow in non wind loaded areas. Good skiing above 1500' at Tincan

Snowpack

Dug 5 pits on Tincan uptrack at 2016'. Generally all ECTX, but one ECTP21 on the 1/21 MLK BSH. The BSH was easily visible. Other students dug at 1300' on Tincan Backdoor and Sunburst and had no significant results in pits. New snow did not seem to have a significant loading effect on the 1/21 BSH layer, although the layer was easily visible in the higher pits.

Photos & Video
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