Where the Sidewalk Ends

Also_Scared , Sunday 15th December, 2024 11:15PM

Wind slab avalanche that stepped down to the deep persistent layer. See incident report.

Attempted to climb "Where the Sidewalk Ends." Skinned up the lower approach slopes south of the approach gulley and observed several shooting cracks propagating <1m. Upon transitioning into the steep gulley fan (~45 degrees), we observed a small settlement. Several minutes later, we triggered a wind slab (20cm thick) settlement that propagated ~30m above us and slid. This slab stepped down to the bottom of the snowpack (70cm) and slid 300 vertical metres to the bottom of the path. One member of the party caught the edge of the avalanche and floated a short distance. The other member of the party was caught and carried to the bottom of the slide path. No serious injuries.