Observer Name
M. Staples & S. Martin
Observation Date
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Region
Uintas » Bear River Ranger District » Gold Hill
Location Name or Route
Gold Hill
Elevation
10,200'
Aspect
Northeast
Trigger
Unknown
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
Persistent Weak Layer
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
2'
Width
1,000'
Vertical
500'
Comments
Unclear if this was natural or triggered by something else like a Moose. There were no fresh snowmobile tracks in the area. We didn't see any fresh animal tracks. However, based on weather we have a hard time believing it was a natural avalanche. We did spot a bull moose in the area and tons of other moose tracks. It seems more likely that it was moose triggered, but we don't know for sure.
REGARDLESS - This avalanche is a major heads up of things to come.
As more snow falls, there will be more avalanches like this one. The difference is that more snowfall will create a thicker slab. A thicker slab means the avalnaches will run farther, faster and create deeper debris.
Snow profile below is not from the crown but from a lower slope where we remotely triggered a smaller avalanche.
Video
Coordinates