Observation: Douglas Island

This is the avalanche reported by Noah 4/2, most likely slid from Wednesday’s wind loading, 3/31 or 4/1. I thought it was interesting to compare a friend’s photo of Sunday’s ski tracks (3/28) to the photo of Friday’s debris pile (4/2). I believe they’re from about the same spot.

The crown is deepest and most obvious on upper Orient, as reported by Noah. But the crown gets smaller and continues lookers right under the ridge that separates Orient from Fruit Bowl.

I tend to think of lower Orient as low angle, conservative terrain, and this is a reminder to consider what’s above, and how crazy far it’ll go. The toe of the avalanche debris covers or takes out trees all the way to the valley floor. If this is that deep, persistent weak layer, it might be a fairly historic avalanche for this location.