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Avalanche: Scottys

Observer Name
Kobernik/Kendall
Observation Date
Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Avalanche Date
Sunday, December 24, 2023
Region
Skyline » Ephraim Canyon » Scottys
Location Name or Route
West side of Scottys
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
Southeast
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Wind Drifted Snow
Weak Layer
Density Change
Depth
10"
Width
125'
Vertical
100'
Comments
While going to investigate another avalanche, we stumbled onto this one. It is similar in nature to this other nearby avalanche. The pattern is a steep easterly facing wind loaded slope near the ridgeline. Both of these avalanches ran on a stout wind/sun crust. The big question for me was whether old faceted snow was involved. Even with a microscope, I could not definitively say facets were involved. These two slides simply look like a function of wind drifted new snow.
Coordinates