Avalanche!

I noticed that this area looked a lot different as I was hiking a nearby trail in late February. A few weeks later (March 8) I happened to be in the area again and decided to check it out. Initially I thought that a powerful wind may have knocked the trees down because I could imagine an avalanche taking out old growth forest in this manner. Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a massive avalanche after all. I couldn't believe the power it unleashed on the forest below. Note that what appears to be the top of the mountain in this photo is not close to the top. The avalanche appeared to originate where a 200-300 foot section of cornice at the top of the mountain fell and swept the snow off steep face before running down the hillside found in this photo. Impressive.

Debris buried in snow. Whole trees, even those up to three feet in diameter were snapped or uprooted and swept down the slope. There was not one single tree that survived the avalanche's fury intact.

Near the trees on the other side of this slide there was a small 30 foot or so slide path from previous avalanche activity. Needless to say, it is much wider now.