Avalanche: Franklin Basin

We got a little surprise today in the backcountry. After 12ish runs on this northeast facing slope at about 9200' we finally hit the sweet spot a triggered a small wind slab that was 6-12" deep. It ended up popping out about 40' wide and ran 400 vert. I was spotting Eric and immediately radioed him and he easily avoided the debris. I followed Eric but dropped the ridge in a slightly mellower spot to the south so I could get a better look at the slide. On the next lap I again was spotter from the peak. Eric dropped in just south of my previous line. He was 6 or 7 turns in when the rest of the wind slab released. Luckily I was immediately on the radio and he strait lined it out of there. This second slab was much bigger and scarier. In total, the slab was somewhere in the neighborhood of 120' wide. The crown, at the deepest, was about 24". This one ran 500 vertical feet and piled up 4-5' deep at the bottom. We both thought that the initial slide was enough to release the energy from the slope and weren't too concerned about another. We later noticed a previously buried rock band that probably harbored the offending weak spot that made our day exciting. What we learned.... 1. Always, always have a spotter. Probably saved Eric's bacon today. 2. Pay attention to those stiff wind slabs. Even though I jumped on it as hard as possible while traversing the ridge, it was stiff enough to hang on until Eric hit the trigger. 3. Even though you haven't seen anything for many days, that stinking persistent weak layer is probably still lurking...and it's a turd that wants to kill you. 4. Always plan your escape. I was able to direct Eric with my radio yells, to his safest zone. 5. Always make sure the slope is cleared before the next rider drops in.

This one definitely woke us up. Glad we ended up safe for another day

Actually two avalanches....