Front Range – Rabbit Creek – Peak 3:
Skinned up normal Peak 3 approach knowing there was significant loading after recent high winds. Did not ascend the normal gully uptrack, but instead gained the ridge between Peaks 2 & 3 and followed that to the summit. Hard slab up top didn’t seem very reactive. Triggered soft slab off the ridge approximately 200′ off the summit on the descent with propagation across the face, 5-14″ deep. There was significant fracture that propagated into the main run, with a sizable crack. It didn’t slide, but is still there as hangfire: a 10-20″ slab above the normal uptrack in the fallout of the main run waiting to release. I would not recommend travel on this aspect in coming days and would be quite concerned that it would be triggered on the approach.
| Wind slab on peak 3. We kept to the ridge between Peaks 2-3 and noticed recent wind blown snow on weak layer on older windpacked layer. Depth varied with rocks from 2 to 14 inches. We released the avalanche in a pinched out area near the ridge (see photo with red arrow) and the fracture cut across the base of the upper cliffs. The fracture stopped halfway and is hanging on the main gulley and ready to rip (see photo with red line showing potential run out that hasn’t yet avalanched). Do not climb the normal way up the main west facing gully.
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Avalanche details:
| Trigger | Skier | Avalanche Type | Soft Slab | Aspect | West |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elevation | unknown | Slope Angle | 35deg | Crown Depth | 14in |
| Width | 200ft | Length | unknown |
Anchorage Avalanche Center comments: this is a good reminder that Peak 3, while very popular and heavily trafficked, can still be dangerous. There has been a fatal avalanche accident on Peak 3 (see our avalanche accident history page), and numerous close calls.