Observation: Public
Observation Details
Name:
ChrisObservation Date:
February 18, 2023Submitted:
February 18, 2023Zone or Region:
Snoqualmie PassActivity:
Skiing/SnowboardingLocation:
Snot CouloirTriggered Avalanches
Did you trigger any avalanches?
YesWas it intentional?
NoAvalanche Type:
Soft SlabSize:
Size 1: Relatively harmless to peopleElevation:
5500Aspect:
NWComments:
Unintentionally triggered a 5-6" deep wind slab with a 15-20' wide crown on Snot Couloir, at about ~5500' running down to ~5200'.Signs of Unstable Snow
None reported
Observations
Skinned up phantom and skied Crooked Couloir first, noticing only two isolated pockets of wind-loaded snow. We then started skinning then booting up Slot Couloir. I noticed 2-6" of wind-loaded snow while booting. I could tell it was wind slabby but we decided to proceed as it seemed isolated and didn't notice any shooting cracks. We did notice active wind loading of the slope. Of course in retrospect, proceeding at this point was a mistake. We reached the top of Snot. First skier skied down without triggering any slab but I ended up triggering a 5-6" slab under my skis at 5500' that ran down ~300'. It caught one snowboarder booting up our bootpack and they slid down ~100-150' in it, but they were not buried and not hurt.
Media
