Sawtooth Avalanche Center

Avalanche Occurrence

View Associated Field Report

General Information

These avalanches happened on Galena Peak on 1/2, between 11AM and 3PM. The avalanche on the left started out as a wind slab and then broke down to deeper weak layers in the steeper, rocky terrain near the cliff band. When smaller avalanches trigger slides on deeper weak layers as they travel downslope it is known as

Observer:
SAC Forecaster

Verified by SAC?
Yes

Occurrence Date:
Jan 2, 2023 (Exact)

Location:
Galena Peak

Comments:

These slides occurred between 11 AM and 3 PM on Mon, January 2nd.

Avalanche Characteristics

# of Avys:
2
Aspect:
NW (W,NW,N)
Start Zone Elev:
10000ft
Size:
D2
Type:
U-Unknown
Trigger:
U-Unknown
Bed Surface:
O-Old Snow
Width:
330ft
Comments:

The larger slide was a D2, about 300 feet wide. It failed on multiple weak layers in steep wind-loaded, alpine terrain. The smaller slide (D1.5) was about 75 feet wide and also appeared to fail on multiple weak layers in wind-loaded, alpine terrain.

Media

These avalanches happened on Galena Peak on 1/2, between 11AM and 3PM. The avalanche on the left started out as a wind slab and then broke down to deeper weak layers in the steeper, rocky terrain near the cliff band. When smaller avalanches trigger slides on deeper weak layers as they travel downslope it is known as "stepping down". The result is a larger, more destructive avalanhe.
These avalanches released between 11 AM and 5 PM on Monday, Jan 2nd on Galena Peak (W-NW, 10400' and 9800'). The trigger is unknown (natural, animal, human, etc).