Observer Name
Ted Scroggin/Craig Gordon
Observation Date
Monday, February 17, 2014
Avalanche Date
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Whitney Basin
Location Name or Route
Superbowl
Elevation
10,600'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
36°
Trigger
Natural
Trigger: additional info
Cornice Triggered
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Ground Interface
Depth
6'
Width
1,500'
Vertical
500'
Comments
Forecaster comment- Ted found this large natural during his travels in Whitney Basin on Mon. Feb. 17. We tried to pinpoint when it possibly occurred. Westerly winds have dominated since the very active zonal pattern developed in early January. This pattern tends to strip snow from Superbowl. However, looking back at Windy Peak wx data, southwest winds made their first appearance late in the evening of the 15th and blew into the 40's and 50's for 13 hours, essentially sealing the fate for a very weak, fragile snowpack.
Ted Scroggin knows the Uinta's like no one else and is a valuable member of the Utah Avalanche Center. Many thanks to Ted for having the intuition to sniff this one out... does this guy rock or what?
Coordinates