Avalanche: South Fork

A group of riders was parked at the bottom of the slope having lunch. A rider or two was jumping off the cornice onto the slope. Nothing happened. The group started to disperse after lunch. Two riders remained below the slope. Another rider was up on the far looker's right side of the slope when he triggered the avalanche from a distance (remotely). He was not caught. The two riders that remained below the slope were caught. One was thrown and fully buried with only a small amount of gear visible on the surface. The other rider was partially buried. The rest of the group quickly responded and were able to dig out the completely buried rider before it was too late. The riders that were caught had minor injuries.

The fracture line was 8 to 12 feet deep. Part of it was the remains of a cornice which accounts for it being very deep. However, the average slab depth was close to 8 feet. The avalanche basically broke to the ground.

It is very surprising that the avalanche did not release when the riders were jumping the cornice. It was ultimately triggered by a rider who was adjacent to the steep part of the slope. This demonstrates that just because there are tracks aready on a slope does not mean it is stable. This incident also demonstrates just how tricky and dangerous the current snowpack is on the Skyline.