Sawtooth Avalanche Center

Public Field Report

Observation Details

Observation Date:
March 12, 2023
Submitted:
March 14, 2023
Zone or Region:
Soldier and Wood River Valley Mtns
Activity:
Skiing/Snowboarding
Location:
Baker Creek

Triggered Avalanches

Did you trigger any avalanches? 
Yes
Was it intentional? 
No
Avalanche Type:
Hard Slab
Size:
Size 2: Could bury, injure, or kill a person
Elevation:
8,000 ft
Aspect:
NW
Comments:
Skier triggered slab broke on a persistent weak layer about 2-3 feet deep, 300+ ft wide, on a convex roll (27-31 degrees) and into the trees. Not sure how far it ran but could definitely hear trees snapping.

Signs of Unstable Snow

Did you see shooting cracks? 
No
Did you experience collapsing or whumpfing? 
Yes, Widespread

Observations

Our (4 backcountry skiers) plan for the day was to stay out of avalanche terrain, on the way up we experienced one extremely large collapse, skied a 2 mellow runs and on the last one we triggered the slide described above.

Media

from the road below
from skiers left of the slide on the ridge

Advanced Observations

Observed Avalanche Problem #1: 
Persistent Slab
Comments: