Details

• Date: 2021/01/06

• Observer: Will Gordon
• Organization: Public

Location

• BC Zone: Vail & Summit County
• Area Description: Mt Helen, Lower E Face

Weather

• Weather Description: Clear, moderate w/nw winds above tree line. Warm and sunny below.

Snowpack

• Snowpack Description: Above tree line yesterday's snow was on top of a very firm surface and was beginning to feel wind affected, but still offered decent ski conditions. By the end of the day it was starting to get punchy. Below tree line there was minimal wind effect, and the snowpack felt mostly cohesionless.

Avalanches

• Avalanche Description: While skiing our first lap, we noticed the adjacent slope had settled and shifted 3-6". The plate was probably 100' wide by 50' tall or so but the slope was low angle enough that the slab arrested before it could do anything. Skinning back up, we noticed a large avalanche further over, at least 500' from where we had skied. We estimated it to be about 2' deep on average, 3' max and about 300' wide. In a few spots it had eroded down to ground. HS-R2D2-AS/r-O-FC

	Date	Location/Path	#	Elev	Asp	Type	Trig	SizeR	SizeD
	2021/01/06  †		1	>TL	E	HS	AS / r	R2	D2
Date: 2021/01/06 (Estimated) Observer: Will Gordon Organization: Public Sliding Surface: O - Within Old Snow Average Crown: 60 cm Maximum Crown: 90 cm Maximum Width: 30 m Comments: Triggered from 500 ft away

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