Avalanche Trap Dyke

[bridgeman]

Natures awesome. It will be interesting to see if there was any significant rock relocation / deposition.

 

[Doc McPeak]

Unbelievable! Thanks for posting those shots.

I would imagine the flooded lean-to was the one above the confluence of the Lake Colden outlet and the Opalescent?

Does anybody know what the condition of Flowed Lands is like? Flooded out, open, still frozen? Did this flash flood open the Opalescent through the Flowed Lands? Just curious, we were wanting to squeeze in another hike while it is still frozen. I wouldn't mind exploring the aftermath of the avalanche.

On a side note, and historical one at that:

In the late 1800's, a huge landslide opened up some of the Colden slides above Avalanche Lake and dumped so much debris in the water, it permenantly raised the lake's surface elevation by 8 feet! This was during Colvin's trips up there, while he was doing his soundings and elevation surveys.

You can imagine if all that snow in Yvon's pics was rocks, it could have had a similar, though probably smaller, effect. Yes, nature is boss!

 

[Dave]

Maybe the lake will one day 'fill in'! In front of the dyke you can already walk accross the unfrozen lake without getting your head wet (If you're six feet tall anyway).

 

[Grumpy]

... I would imagine the flooded lean-to was the one above the confluence of the Lake Colden outlet and the Opalescent? ...

... On a side note, and historical one at that:

In the late 1800's, a huge landslide opened up some of the Colden slides above Avalanche Lake and dumped so much debris in the water, it permenantly raised the lake's surface elevation by 8 feet! This was during Colvin's trips up there, while he was doing his soundings and elevation surveys. ...

I have similar curiosity about just which leantos were flooded in this event -- the ones on Lake Colden proper, or those on the Opalescent.

Excellent note about the earlier landslides that laid bare the flanks of Mt. Colden above Avalanche Lake. As several have noted, the Adirondacks is a naturally changing landscape. Some changes are dramatic, some subtle. That is part of what makes it so interesting to people who, like me, are inclined to revisit Adirondack places we have been before. There always is something new to discover and see.

G.

 

[prino]

WOW! Thanks for the pictures and the info, you should submit them to The PRESS REPUBLICAN: http://www.pressrepublican.com/

Depending what came down with the snow the landscape and the outlet of the so appropriately named Avalanche Lake may be changed for ever.

I don't know! Landfill lake just doesn't have the same ring to it.

 

[cbcbd]

I don't know! Landfill lake just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Does "Debris Lake" sound more "PC"?

 

[adirobdack46r]

Wow, how fast does something like move? If someone was out on the lake and heard or saw this on the move, how much time would there be to seek safety, or are you just in big big trouble?

 

[bridgeman]

Fortunately, at least in this incident, the width of the debris field is fairly concentrated due to the chute, therefore one would have time to react if they had done so early on.

If I had been on the opposite side of the lake, I probably would have watched the avalanche progress thinking that I would have been safe at that distance. As you can see from the pictures, that may have been a fatal decision.

Live and learn.

 

[prino]

I'm sure you wouldn't have time to run knowing the ruggedness of that section of trail.
Also judjing by the pictures the flow of the avalanche didn't run straight over the lake but veered to the left.... It certainly ran out a long way. Heck of a lot of power there...if only it could be harnessed!

 

[DougPaul]

Wow, how fast does something like move? If someone was out on the lake and heard or saw this on the move, how much time would there be to seek safety, or are you just in big big trouble?

Avalanches can run in excess of 100 mph.

My guess is that you would be in big trouble. (Don't forgrt that you would be wearing a pack and wouldn't exactly be wearing track shoes...)

Doug

 

[TCD]

This was an unusually large avalanche for the East. Factors: a large relatively recent snowpack; a smooth rock surface; sudden warm weather; and a natural terrain funnel. Avalanches are very fast and powerful, and can occur with no warning. In the Himalaya, I had the privilege (?) of watching a big avalanche go by in the next gully about 100 yards away. The roar and wind were tremendous, and you could see the pressure wave ahead of it like a movie special effect. The only approach for avalanches like this is avoidance. If you were climbing the dike when this slid, you'd be very unikely to survive, even if you had a large, competent, properly equipped party.

This is why the DEC posts signs advising winter hikers to keep moving and not tarry (for lunch, perhaps?) at the height of land on the Avalanche Pass trail. I've cancelled as many winter trips up the trap dike as I've actually gone on, through the years, for the same reason.

Isn't winter fun?!

TCD

 

[Tom Rankin]

This is why the DEC posts signs advising winter hikers to keep moving and not tarry (for lunch, perhaps?) at the height of land on the Avalanche Pass trail. I've cancelled as many winter trips up the trap dike as I've actually gone on, through the years, for the same reason.

I'll bet there will be more signs soon!

 

[yonkers]

do you think it was concentrated to the dyke? it looks like a large portion most of it came straight over the face.

 

[yonkers]

do you think it was concentrated to the dyke? it looks like a large portion , most of it came straight over the face.

 

[Grumpy]

do you think it was concentrated to the dyke? it looks like a large portion most of it came straight over the face.

Oh, I can't agree with that. To me, the first photos clearly show the outflow from the avalanche fanning out from the base of the chute formed by the Dike. Nothing in the photos visually indicates an avalanche having run down the open slabs.

G.

 

[Doc McPeak]

Oh, I can't agree with that. To me, the first photos clearly show the outflow from the avalanche fanning out from the base of the chute formed by the Dike. Nothing in the photos visually indicates an avalanche having run down the open slabs.

G.

I agree with Grumpy. That stand of trees below the slab would probably be gone. I hope the rangers release a detailed report of the avalanche though. If they do an investigation (I think they should?), they might be able to reconstruct things and determine all those variables.

I still haven't seen any news reports on this though!?

 

[jbrown]

My thought on it was that the open slabs tend to slope toward the dyke anyway, so an entire mountain worth of snow could have been funnelled into the dyke from a slide on the open slabs. The resulting mass would have come out of the dyke like a shot out of a cannon, firing all the way across the lake and taking out the trees directly in front of the dyke...kind of like what happened.
Let me say, though that I'm probably the least experienced when it comes to winter conditions, so I'm just voicing my opinion.
Cheers!

 

[Whiteman]

I don't think you get a lot of snow lingering on that face either. We were up on Avalance Lake a couple of months ago, when the wind was blowing a steady 25 mph, and it was pretty bare on the slabs that see in the pictures. I imagine that it's a little different near the top, where people describe turning out of the dike to head for the summit.

 

[Neil]

I would think that the wind that preceeded the avalanche down the narrow confines of the dike would have easily reached 200mph. Anyone in the wrong place at the wrong time would have been blown like a ragdoll into the forest on the far side of the lake.

 

[DougPaul]

I don't think you get a lot of snow lingering on that face either. We were up on Avalance Lake a couple of months ago, when the wind was blowing a steady 25 mph, and it was pretty bare on the slabs that see in the pictures. .

That would depend on short-term conditions and winds. There was a heavy wet snowfall just before the avalanche--it could have loaded up the slabs. Depending on the lay of the land, it could have funneled down the dyke.