Kirkwood mega slab

unofficialmtrose.com/?p=4415
Don't know too many details..patrol triggered, looks like it's a good 20' crown to the ground!

What angle is the slide bed?  Almost looks too big/deep for the slope.

I have a hunch the camera might not be aligned exactly with our normal frame of reference.  Assuming the distant cloud layer is a decent proxy for the horizon, and you rotate the photo onto that frame, it looks a bit steeper.

Anyway, not going to detect that weak layer with a normal avvy test.  yikes!

Looks like Sunnyside if that's the vista t-bar in the pic. Slope is off a lower ridge, east facing and not super steep. I haven't skied there in years but if I had to guess at slope angle in the mid 30's at the top. It's pretty much a nice ski slope that side of the ridge, steep enough and uniform enough to be slide prone but nothing "extreme". Some may recall the dog assisted avalanche rescue in nearby button bowl.

Pretty alarming result considering the rest of the terrain at the wood. I wonder if we'll see pics of more big results as they get dug out from this storm cycle. Their website reports zero lifts open at the moment and has an ominous avalanche forecast left over from yesterday that says avalanches WILL occur. Exciting.

Interesting read on Tahoe weather (rain, flooding, heavy snow, 174 MPH gust)

squawalpine.com/explore/blog/operations-...-alpine-squaw-closed

Here's a close up of the crown! It was a step down slide that went to the ground.