Close call at WA Pass 1-5-14

Very detailed report. Just to recommend, do you measure the slope angle with an inclinometer. And, It kind of sounded like the release was similar to a spring slide - when the release moves slow. This website has the weak layer page.

Important thoughts on uptrack management, TN. Thanks for sharing.

Glad you were skiing fast enough, others might disagree with me but riding as fast as possible for conditions is safer.

I wonder if there was a rock near the trigger point, can't quite tell from the photo. Perhaps there was a thick hoar layer surrounding a rock, it could easily propagate from there even thought pits weren't very reactive.

Or perhaps the snow cover was just thinner up at the top of that side of the run, thus making it easier to trigger on weak layers that were more deeply buried elsewhere?

At my home mtn, Mammoth, CA, the very top is similar to this spot. There are rocks above, and the snow accumulates below the rock outcroppings (as the snow doesn't stick to the rocks). The main run is named Climax. Due to the possibility of a climax avalanche, usually from a rain event prior to a large snowfall. In Feb, '86 a 22 foot fracture was measured at another apex of the mtn !

Have any of you skied the south side of Blue Pk? Quite a few years ago we had yet another shallow early season snow pack, I don't remember if we'd had any cold temps but most likely so given the eastslope. We'd skied Madison Ave almost to the valley bottom, had climbed back up and were sitting at the col having lunch and trying to decide if we were going to ski it again. One of our group walked over to just below Blue Pk and started to dig a pit. That set off the whole slope from just a few feet below where we sat - wall to wall, to the ground and all the way to the valley floor.

This year reminds me of that year. Watch out.