Quick report
- We noticed several natural loose dry avalanches on similar aspects and terrain that morning. - There was approx. 3" of new snow from the previous night. - Weather was mostly cloudy with light winds on ridge tops. Otherwise, it was calm. - We dug a pit at the top of the slope that slid. CT gave us a no-result. There was no slab or real structure. The snowpack was 70cm deep and consisted of various types facets. - We travelled cautiously, but ultimately decided to enter avalanche terrain. We decided to ski this slope because there was no sign of a slab - persistent or wind - and we felt like we could manage the risk using terrain features. The loose structure of the snowpack and natural dry loose avalanches nearby made us aware of a possible point release. We skied the edge of a small ridge feature to stay close to islands of safety in case a point release occurred. We stayed above gullies and terrain traps where sluff could have trapped us. - Overall stability was good. The lack of structure and slope of the start zone contributed to the avalanche. We did not encounter widespread or obvious red flags, other than a few smaller dry loose avalanches on similar slopes.
Avalanche
- South of the Grand Prize TH. NW Aspect. Start elev. - 9600. End elev. 8800. Start zone angle was 35 degrees. - First skier triggered the avalanche. Started as sluff from the initial turns and grew as it moved downhill. Loose dry, point release. - No one was caught. - Avalanche traveled 0.25 miles and dropped 800'. Noticeable powder cloud and shook trees. Tongue was 75' wide. Deepest point of debris pile was 185cm.