Feb 24, 2010, Mazama Bowl slide

Just a quick note for people to be careful.  Skied out towards Herman Saddle today and was going to drop down in to Mazama Bowl for a quick  run.  At the top of the pass there was a major cornice facing to the north but the wind was strong coming from the north.  I found a slot to drop through the cornice so after coming through the slot I did a quick cut to do a ski check and set off a slab approximately 20' across and about 3" deep.  The slope wasn't that steep, maybe 30 degrees and the slide went down only about 50' or so but it was enough to turn around and stay on the south side.
On the south side the new snow was adhering to the hard pack and I didn't observe any signs of slab formation.