Avalanche: Douglas Island

Location: Troy

Date:
Observer:
D Kirkwood
Route & General Observations

Quick evening tour up Troy. Observed slides reported by Flynn. Observed small soft slab avalanche on Troy face. Snow surface was wind blown above tree line.
Snow pits stability tests: inconsistent results but poor structure.

Avalanche Details
If this is an avalanche observation, click yes below and fill in the form as best as you can. If people were involved, please provide details.
Trigger NaturalAvalanche Type Soft Slab
Aspect NorthwestElevation 2400ft
Slope AngleunknownCrown Depthunknown
Width 25ftVertical Run 150ft
Avalanche Details

Soft slab on a cliff on Troy Face.

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)?Yes
Observer Comments

Recent avalanches,
Had a shooting crack approx 3 ‘ long while skiing in low angle terrain.

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

Mixed sun and partly cloudy.
No wind
Temps warmed in the sun then got cold as sun went down.

Snow surface

Dense powder snow, wind blown powder/ stiff creme cheese.

Snowpack

Hand pits enroute suggested weak interface w new snow. We dug 2 pits on a small roll mid Troy. W and N aspect. 15 degree. 40 cm of new snow.
Facet interface at 75 cm.

Poorly executed my ect (back wasn’t fully cut). Partners had ECTN24. I then got CT 6 at 40cm from top. CT 23 at 75 cm down.

Photos & Video
Please upload photos below. Maximum of 5 megabytes per image. Click here for help on resizing images. If you are having trouble uploading please email images separately to staff.

Storm slab off Troy face cliffs.  

Short Shooting crack while skiing down  

Location