Wind Slab Avalanche Above Leavitt Lake Road

Location Name: 
Wind Slab Avalanche Above Leavitt Lake Road
Region: 
BWRA
Date and time of avalanche (best estimate if unknown): 
Fri, 02/03/2017 - 19:00
Location Map: 

Red Flags: 
Recent avalanche activity
Recent loading by new snow, wind, or rain
Observation made by: Avalanche Specialist
Avalanche Observations
Avalanche Type: 
Slab
Trigger type: 
Natural
Crown Height: 
4 ft
Aspect: 
Northeast
Weak Layer: 
Old Snow
Avalanche Width: 
800ft.
Terrain: 
Above Treeline
Elevation: 
9 300ft.
Bed Surface: 
Old Snow
Avalanche Length: 
700ft.
Number of similar avalanches: 
2
Number of people caught: 
0
Number of partial burials: 
0
Number of full burials: 
0
Did the avalanche hit a building, vehicle, or structure?: 
No
More detailed information about the avalanche: 

Very strong southwesterly winds were present in the BWRA over the weekend transporting recently fallen snow onto leeward slopes (photo 3).  Heavy wind loading was observed on NW-N-NE-SE facing slopes and several medium to large sized wind slab avalanches were observed.  A crown line and debris from a size 2 wind slab avalanche was present just above lower Leavitt Lake Road and a decent amount of debris was deposited about 400 vertical feet downslope (photos 1 and 2).  Riders also reported a larger and longer propagating avalanche above Koenig Lake, though no photos were available.  These avalanches likely released sometime during the day on Friday or Friday night.

Avalanche Photos: 
Weather Observations
Blowing Snow: 
Yes
Cloud Cover: 
50% of the sky covered by clouds
Air temperature: 
Below Freezing
Wind Speed: 
Strong
Precipitation: 
None
Air temperature trend: 
Warming
Wind Direction: 
Southwest