| Trigger | Skier | Remote Trigger | 0 |
| Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | North |
| Elevation | 2500ft | Slope Angle | unknown |
| Crown Depth | 12in | Width | 20ft |
| Vertical Run | 1000ft |
Avalanche: Girdwood
Location: Orca
Orca North Chute – skier triggered sluff that triggered a small slab. No one was caught or injured.
Avalanche Details
A skier triggered dry loose sluff on a North chute of Orca, and stopped to let it pass by. Well below them the sluff triggered a small slab, ~12" thick and 20' wide that ran the remainder of the chute to the fan below. No one was caught, but sluff was heavy and fast moving and a powder cloud was seen after it triggered the slab.
Obvious signs of instability
| Recent Avalanches? | Yes |
| Collapsing (Whumphing)? | No |
| Cracking (Shooting cracks)? | No |
Observer Comments
Small skier triggered slab on North chute
The sluff on North aspects was surprisingly fast and heavy
Snow surface
Very large and impressive surface hoar was observed on Orca at all elevations
Snowpack
The old bed surface was very firm and supportable
Two small crowns in N chute of Orca
Looking down at flank and vegetation below
After skiing down to look at crown
Debris ran into fan on looker left chute