Quick report
- Cracking
- isolated
On Saturday we skied up to one of the subsummits of The Triad. Skiing quality was generally poor, with almost all aspects and elevations highly wind effected. We were complacent and one member of our party triggered a wind slab and was caught and carried approximately 400 vertical feet. He was not buried and uninjured but we were very lucky. See avalanche details for more information.
Avalanche
- Size
- D1 R2
- Type
- SS
- Aspect
- N
- Trigger
- AS
- Elevation
- 7000 ft
We skied up to the western subsummit of the western Triad. Conditions almost everywhere were extremely variable and wind effected. Just below the ridgecrest, while skinning, one member of our party triggered a D1 wind slab approx 30 feet wide with an average crown depth of 6 inches, maximum 15 inches. That party member was caught and carried approximately 400 vertical feet. The party member was not buried and was uninjured. The second party member (party of 2) was not caught in the avalanche and skied down to assist. Mitigating factors included the benign runout, but we were still extremely lucky - this slide could easily have resulted in a knee injury or broken leg.