Observer Name
Sam Warrick
Observation Date
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Avalanche Date
Sunday, April 26, 2020
Region
Salt Lake » Deseret Peak
Location Name or Route
Desert Peak Twin Couloirs
Elevation
10,500'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Natural
Depth
Unknown
Width
15'
Comments
Arrived at the base of the couloirs at approximately 11 am. It had been overcast all morning but cleared up around that time, and we began to see the sun affecting the east facing cornices. We saw four small to medium sized cornices collapse during our approach which resulted in relatively small sloughs at the base of the cliffs.
We booted up the eastern couloir, choosing it over the west to avoid the significant overhead hazard. Shortly after arriving at the top of the couloirs a very large cornice broke and fell into the west couloir, triggering an avalanche.
We observed two groups boot packing up the couloir forty-five minutes to an hour prior to the avalanche (their skin track is visible in the photos).
Overall, conditions were decent early but deteriorated as the day progressed, and the significant cornice hazard above the west couloir remains.
Coordinates