Butler Avy path1/19/2024
Today I went up Butler Fork to have a look at a slide I saw from Wilson Peak the other day. I know this slope well. I was caught in a avalanche on it last year and got shoved into a stand of trees and buried up to my chest. The slope is NE facing and very protected, it has a really steep headwall but the steep part is not super long. Then it rolls out on a low angle apron. As soon as I got to the toe of the slide I realized it was pretty massive. The slide started on the steep E facing portion and also included the SE portion that wraps around at the top. The toe of the slide was way down in a flat meadow at the bottom. I've always wondered how far this path could run and now I know. I’ve looked at a bunch of slides in the last couple weeks but this one stood out. It removed old growth trees on the flanks of the path and flagged trees up to 40ft high removing all the branches on the upslope side. The PWL must have been really bad in this area. The distance the slide traveled on low angle terrain was impressive,up to a third or half a mile. I did travel up to the steep part of the slope and the PWL was not there, just a hard bed surface with a foot of well bonded snow resting on it. Things are still highly suspect in my mind and I will continue to stick to lower angle slopes on the N end of the compass or slopes that avalanched and cleaned out the PWL. If I can’t tell if the PWL has been cleaned out I’m just gonna pass for the time being. The warm temperatures and settlement are definitely helping, but I’m holding my cards tight for now.
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January 2024
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