Natural Wet Slab Avalanche on Mt. Price

Location Name: 
Mt. Price
Region: 
Desolation Wilderness Area (including Emerald Bay)
Observation Date & Time: 
Sunday, April 12, 2020 - 14:00
Location: 
38.853370, -120.152714
See map: CalTopo
Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
Yes


Conditions Alerts:

  • Avalanche Activity
  • Persistent Problem

Terrain Alerts: 
Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees
Obvious Slide Path
Observation made by: Forecaster

Tabs

Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

This large avalanche was seen from Mt. Tallac and thought to have occurred on Sunday April 12 on the ridge between Mt. Price and Pyramid Peak above Lake Aloha.  The avalanche was on a NE aspect and failed midslope.  Starting elevation was estimated at 8900' running down to 8200-8400', making it 500-700' long and around 500' wide.  The wide propagation and depth of this slab avalanche is indicative of the weak layer being the March 24 buried surface hoar layer.  With rapid warming and a poor overnight refreeze on Saturday night, this avalanche is thought to be a wet slab that failed on the buried surface hoar layer buried 1 to 3' deep on Sunday. 

Hide Avalanche Details
Avalanche Type: 
Wet Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Old Snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
Natural
Hide Terrain
Aspect: 
Northeast
Starting Elevation: 
above-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.
Relative Size: 
R3 Medium
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
500ft.
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
700ft.
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