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Avalanche: Juneau Mainland

Location: Snowslide Gulch, Gold Creek

Date:
Observer:
Mike Janes Professional
Route & General Observations

Observed from roadway and then via helicopter later in the day. Best guess is that it was triggered by strong NE winds this morning; Sheep Mountain FAA site gusting to 45mph and visible snow transport was observed on this slope in early AM.

Avalanche Details
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Trigger NaturalAvalanche Type Unknown
Aspect West NorthwestElevation 3000ft
Slope AngleunknownCrown Depth3ft
Width 300ftVertical Run 2500ft
Avalanche Details

This was a large R3D3.5 avalanche which ran to the valley floor and blocked Gold Creek. It looked fresh enough it could have been triggered by the NE winds (gusting to 50mph at Sheep Mtn this AM) but it also could have occurred at the end of the storm. The crown wrapped around the ridgeline onto the N aspect.

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)?No
Observer Comments

Numerous other slides observed as having occurred mid storm but nothing new this morning.

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

Clearing after multi day storm and ~3" of storm precip (snow water equivalent) thru the week.

Photos & Video
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Crown looking from Yacht Club; wraps onto N aspect.  

Closeup of crown in flat light from the air; wraps around the ridgeline.  

Whole path and track/runout into Gold Creek.  

Gold Creek shown pooling up and damned behind debris.  

Location