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Avalanche: Mineral Fork

Observer Name
R. Kosinski
Observation Date
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Avalanche Date
Friday, December 18, 2020
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mineral Fork
Location Name or Route
Mineral Fork
Elevation
9,100'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Natural
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
12"
Width
800'
Comments
All of the open faces along the ridgeline from Low East Facing up to Moonlight have run, usually taking just about everything in the bowl. Some of these appear to have been triggered by deer in the area while others I assume have run naturally. They all ran down to the facet layers (the one on Moonlight ran to the ground) and were NE slopes around 9000' with an angle greater than 30 degrees. All ran down through the trees and into the gullies below. Widespread collapsing and cracking were seen in these areas.
Pic 1 & 2: Low East Facing
Pic 3: Highline
Pic 4: Moonlight
Coordinates