Wind Slab Avalanche Frog Lake

Location Name: 
Frog Lake into Red Lake
Region: 
Carson Pass Area
Observation Date & Time: 
Sunday, December 16, 2018 - 10:00
Location: 
38.689820, -119.985406
See map: CalTopo
Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
Yes


Conditions Alerts:

  • Avalanche Activity
  • Recent Loading
  • Recent Loading›Blowing Snow

Terrain Alerts: 
Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees
Observation made by: Public

Tabs

Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

Set off a significant hard wind slab dropping into Red Lake.  Avalanche was triggered by me turning on the slope.  I was initially caught in slide but I had enough momentum to move to edge of slide and grab a hold of a tree and hang on as the avalanche passed.    

Hide Avalanche Details
Avalanche Type: 
Wind Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old Snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
Snowboarder
Trigger Modifier: 
Accidentally Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
32degrees
Aspect: 
North
Starting Elevation: 
near-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R2 Small
Crown Height: 
Less than 1 ft
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
75ft.
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
300ft.
Hide People Involved
Number of people caught: 
1
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
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