Observer Name
Amble & L. Little & UAC& RichJZ
Observation Date
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Avalanche Date
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Mill D North » Butler Fork » Reynolds Peak
Location Name or Route
Reynolds Shoulder
Elevation
9,200'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Skier
Trigger: additional info
Remotely Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
2'
Width
800'
Vertical
700'
Comments
A few steps off of the skintrack and I felt a collapse. A few more steps and I could see the slope spiderweb as it began moving downhill. Then heard the branches break as it raked through trees. Saw the powder cloud burst across at the bottom of the path. Large and violent enough avalanche. Thankfully I did not see any tracks on the slope entering the path. I did not feel it was worth the risk to do a beacon search of the debris with no signs of human involvement and Reynolds E Face still above with a party skinning above it.
Forecaster comments: Failed on a thin melt-freeze crust above last weeks' rain crust.
Comments
It had been a quiet day up until that point. One small collapse in Lee's fork.
Comments
L. Little
At approx 1:30pm, the shoulder of Reynolds and Reynolds East Face slid from the ridgeline several hundred feet; appears to have been remotely triggered by a group of skiers. No backcountry travelers seemingly impacted. Crown appears to be several hundred feet wide.
Comments
UAC Observation HERE.
RichJZ
Likely will be reported multiple times as there were near resort levels of people at the top of Tom's Hill today. Looking across to Reynolds it looked like the entire ridgeline of East Face slid. There were ski tracks skiers right of the the slide. My guess is a wind slab natural avalanche. Sorry about the poor picture quality. My phone lens was fogged and the storm was just starting to lighten.
Video
Coordinates