Avalanche crown and similar snowpack

Avalanche crown and similar snowpack

The photo on the right is from a snowmobile triggered avalanche on Crown Butte on 11-26.  The photo on the left shows a nearly identical snowpack on nearby Scotch Bonnet Mtn the same day where a stability test broke on facets near the ground (ECTP 17).  A similar layer of facets produced the human triggered avalanche on Crown Butte.  Slopes with recent avalanches are clear evidence that similar slopes with a similar snowpack structure are prime places to trigger more avalanches.  Photo: GNFAC

Cooke City, 2011-11-27