avalanche castle apron

Location Name: 
apron backside castle peak
Region: 
Donner Summit Area
Observation Date & Time: 
Friday, December 2, 2022 - 09:22
Location: 
39.371684, -120.339953
See map: CalTopo
Is this an Avalanche Observation?: 
Yes


Conditions Alerts:

  • Avalanche Activity
  • Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing)
  • Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing)›Collapsing / whumpfing noises
  • Other Signs of Instability (cracking, whumpfing, collapsing)›Shooting Cracks
  • Persistent Problem
  • Recent Loading
  • Recent Loading›Blowing Snow
  • Recent Loading›More Than a Foot of New Snow
  • Recent Loading›Snowfall Rates of More Than 1 in/hr

Terrain Alerts: 
Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees
Obvious Slide Path
Trigger Points
Terrain Matches the Advisory
Observation made by: Public

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Observation
Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions: 

I was climbing high up on the apron west to east and got some good settling just west of those big old-growth fur trees in pic. 5 steps east of trees got more settling and a crack that ran east and uphill about 20yds and then it ripped out big time. 2-3ft crown 50 yds wide. Ran top to bottom. Couldn’t tell if it got into old snow or just lots of wind loading. Another 2ft on top of this instability, and things could get sketchy out there. Proceed with caution.

Hide Avalanche Details
Avalanche Type: 
Storm Slab
Failure Plane/Weak Layer: 
Storm Snow
Hide Trigger
Trigger: 
Skier
Trigger Modifier: 
Remotely Triggered
Hide Terrain
Start Zone Slope Angle: 
45degrees
Aspect: 
Northeast
Starting Elevation: 
above-treeline
Hide Size
Destructive Size: 
D3 Could bury and destroy a car, damage a truck, destroy a wood frame house, or break a few trees.
Relative Size: 
R5 Very Large
Crown Height: 
3 ft
Avalanche Width (Average width): 
150ft.
Avalanche Length (Vertical Run): 
900ft.
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