3-24-06, Shumway Canyon

(photos by Dave Kikkert)

On 3/24/06 we ascended Shumway Canyon in the Wellsville Range to check out a large natural hard slab avalanche, which occurred earlier in the week.

The broad avalanche failed on faceted snow above a rain-crust from 2/28/06.  The crown was 2 to 4 feet deep and around 1000' wide.

The avalanche ran 2000 vertical feet, from its crown at 8800' to its toe at 6800'.  This picture is from around 7300'

The avalanche running below pulled out this side canyon, a good ways below the initial avalanche.

The avalanche filled the canyon floor with deep piles of deposition.  This shot is from around 1000' below the crown.

Here I'm looking at the upper part of the crown.  It was difficult to travel on the hard crust on a 43 degree northeast facing slope.

Ongoing wind-drifting made it difficult to spend much time examining this crown near the Wellsville Crest.  This natural avalanche may have triggered the big hard slab when it overran the steep slope below.

On the way down, I triggered this small fresh wind slab on a roll in the slope at 7500'.  Notice the shimmery frost or surface hoar crystals on the bed surface.  I barely stepped on the sensitive slab, and it released.

The small avalanche was 20-30 feet wide and 1 to 1.5 feet deep.  It was not too dangerous on this open slope, but had we been in more serious terrain, it might have been.