Avalanche: Catchers Mit

My wife and I summitted Kessler Peak via Argenta this morning around 10:30 AM. From about 200' below the summit, I dropped into the upper, skiers-left portion of Catcher's Mitt. The convex slope rolled over partway down; I could not see a clean line through to the bottom, but remembered (or so I thought) that it was possible to ski through the rock bands. I made 6 turns or so in very loose, powdery snow. It occurred to me that the snow was extremely unconsolidated and that the slope was steepening to about 40 degrees. However, I could almost see over the bulge in front of me to learn if the line was clean, so I kept going.

Sluffing snow began to pass me, and a second later a significant sluff knocked me off me my feet. As snow started to flow around me, I yelled "avalanche!" to my partner above. I tumbled for a few seconds and then stopped, but I never went under the snow. A few seconds later, I got my bearings, stood up, and yelled up to my partner that I was okay and that she should stay put. I realized that a large sluff had carried me over a small rock band about 10' high. Another 30' below me was a larger cliff, maybe 30' in height. The sluff had run over the second cliff band and run another 100' vertical after that. All together, I was carried about 80' vertical and the sluff ran about 300' vertical.

The slope was ENE and about 40 degrees. It was clear that I had found a steep, protected pocket of snow in which the snow surface had completely decomposed into near-surface facets (NSF). This was not your typical case of 1-2 cm of NSF sitting atop a stronger crust of compacted snow or wind board. The small slope was protected from the wind (no wind crust) yet exposed to the night sky (good for faceting). I believe the sluff started in the loose NSF at the surface but stepped down into the settled powder beneath the NSF and entrained more snow as it ran. I certainly was not expecting a sluff of that size since it has barely snowed for a month. It was not a large avalanche - the kind of sluff you would expect in steep terrain after a storm or wind event. But it has barely snowed in a month, and this sluff was almost large enough to bury a person. Certainly enough to be dangerous in high-consequence terrain. Sorry, but no pics (phone died).

So, what did I learn today? I won't go into detail on the point that small avalanches can have big consequences in certain terrain - they can. Instead, here are my two taken-home lessons:

First, loose-dry sluffing weeks after a storm is a real thing and should not be overlooked. I thought that any sluffs I might encounter today would be small and manageable. But this one easily knocked me off my feet and ran several hundred feet.

Second, when you drop into your line and snow conditions are not what you expect, stop and think. Even on a "green" day. as I started skiing the slope today, I noticed something was amiss. The snow was looser and deeper than I had expected. But I was more concerned with where I was going than with assessing the safety of the snow. I am not smart enough to visualize my line, be psyched about the skiing, and dynamically assess avalanche safety as I ski. I should have stopped and reassessed - even on a "green" day. [Forecaster Comment: Thank you for the honest assessment of what occurred today. Sluffs - even minor ones - can have serious consequences in steep terrain.]