Avalanche: Douglas Island

Location: Heavenly/ West EC

Date:
Observer:
Sam Roche Professional
Route & General Observations

Spent the day near the western boundry of Eaglecrest ski area and observed touchy avalanche conditions.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger SkierAvalanche Type Soft Slab
Aspect NorthwestElevation 2600ft
Slope Angle 40degCrown Depth 4in
Width 20ftVertical Run 50ft
Avalanche Details

Our party triggered numerous small wind slab avalanches with ski cuts. The avalanches were 3-5" deep. Nearly any convex terrain feature over 35 degrees would produce an avalanche. A hasty snowpit dug in "high heavenly" at ~2600' NW produced an ECTP when isolation the column. We did not investigate the weak layer, but the failures occured on the interface between the new snow and the crust formed on Thanksgiving day.

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?No
Collapsing (Whumphing)?Yes
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?Yes
Observer Comments

ECTP (V) - failed when isolating a column.

Photos & Video
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Great example of a small avalanche triggered from another party on sign line.  

Location