Avalanche: Eeeny Meeny Miny Moe

After a day of poking around in broads fork, making numerous assesments, our party decided to hop over into Mill B for an exit, at this point it was getting later in the day and I would say that we let our guard down a bit. This was a mistake. Still cautious, we skied one at a time down the ENE facing, 35-36 degree slope, just under 9000 feet (note mid-elevation). After one rider skied the length of the run, the next was nearing the bottom as the weight of the three remaining skiers above triggered a slab beneath them 18-24 inches deep, about a 100+ feet wide. The slide caught up to skier two and carried him about 300+ feet, it chewed him up and spit him out, minus one ski, two poles, and a glove, he sustained minor injuries to his arm. Rider one was also "braised" by the slide as well. Both ended up on top luckily. The avalanche ran just under 1000 feet.

It released right under the "triggerers" feet, I was standing a few feet above the crown. Ya, scary. John's arm should be O.K., probably just a strain (

Buried surface hoar. Riding in a place we knew better about. Throughout the day we noted other recent naturals in broads, one nearer the surface, the other a pocket to the ground, both close to 9000 feet in elevation

Additional photos by Trent Meisenheimer