Large wet snow avalanche on Mt. Baldy

Small wet snow slides are commonplace in the San Gabriel Mountains, but this monster took me by surprise. The debris field is about fifty yards across where this photo was taken. The slide originated several hundred feet up the ridge, and the debris continued several hundred feet below. The dot between the trees just up and left of center is one of two hikers who just finished crossing the avalanche's path on their way to the Sierra Club ski hut. February 26, 2005.