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Persistent Slab Avalanche Near Castle Peak

Location Name: DLI / Castle Region: Donner Summit Area Observation Date & Time: Monday, March 30, 2020 - 16:45
Location: 39.347001, -120.305632 See map: CalTopo	Is this an Avalanche Observation?: Yes Terrain Alerts: Slopes Steeper than 30 degrees Terrain Matches the Advisory

Observation made by: Public

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Observation

Description of Snow, Weather, and Avalanche Conditions:

This avalanche was triggered by another snowmobiler in my group. It broke below the sled.

The bed surface was sugary.

Ample hangfire was left above the crown. After cutting just a few feet of the hangfire with my hands and pulling on it a little bit, a crack propagated about 50 feet and an additional few feet of hangfire slid down.

After reading the observations from Frog Lake and Castle Peak this morning, this one surprised us.

Northwest aspect, 7500 feet.

Snowpack Details

Persistent Weak Layers:

Buried

Terrain Details

Terrain: elevations:

Near Treeline

Terrain: aspects:

Avalanche Details

Avalanche Type:

Persistent Slab

Failure Plane/Weak Layer:

Old Snow

Trigger

Trigger:

Snowmobiler

Trigger Modifier:

Accidentally Triggered

Terrain

Aspect:

Northwest

Starting Elevation:

near-treeline

Size

Destructive Size:

D2 Could bury, injure, or kill a person.

Relative Size:

R3 Medium

Crown Height:

1 ft

People Involved

Number of people caught:

Number of partial burials:

Number of full burials:

Weather Details

Elevation of Observation:

7000 - 8000 ft.

Blowing Snow:

Light

Sky Cover:

Overcast - Cloudy - 8/8 covered

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Persistent Slab Avalanche Near Castle Peak

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Persistent Slab Avalanche Near Castle Peak

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