Whitewater Snow Safety

Incident Report

On January 6th at 3:30pm Whitewater Ski Patrol was notified of an avalanche incident adjacent the ski area boundary in an area known as Goat Slide. Ski patrol responded to the incident and activated search and rescue. A party of 3 backcountry skiers were returning from 5 mile when the first skier triggered the avalanche, and went for a ride through steep trees and cliff terrain, sustaining serious injuries but was not buried in the avalanche. Due to proximity to the boundary and reports of other people in the area, a visual, recco, and transceiver sweep of the debris was conducted, and no other clues or signals were observed. The avalanche was a size 2.5 storm slab, running on old surfaces including crusts and faceted snow. Crowns were 20-40cm deep (shown throughout the start zone with arrows), 100m wide, and the debris ran for approximately 230m. Significant southerly winds overnight contributed to crossloading the slope and loading fan features lower down. Of note, this area is easily accessed by the Raven Chair, with a traverse from the ski area boundary in to the Goat Slide avalanche terrain. The debris from the avalanche ran approximately 130m past the traverse with the bulk of debris below. This created uncertainty as to if anyone else was involved in the avalanche. When leaving the ski area boundary, you are responsible for your own safety. Please carry appropriate avalanche safety gear including transceiver, shovel, probe, and have avalanche training. Whitewater may respond to incidents when time and resources permit, but SAR is the primary responders and a response will take time, so be prepared for self rescue.