Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 12 m
- Weak Layer
- New Snow
- Trigger Type
- Snowboarder
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 20 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Unintentionally Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- North
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2957 m
I made a really poor call this morning. After making my way up flagstaff and accepting defeat to the extreme low vis and high winds, I made my way down canyon to somewhere with more trees and in an area I know extremely well and had ridden the day before(May 6th), Scotties Bowl. I made the mistake of ignoring red-flags beginning about halfway up the slope: Lots of spindrift on the summit, high and frequent winds, etc.
I simply made the mistake of being ignorant to the signs as I felt confident from the day before in riding the same line from the summit with endless free refills. I waited on the summit for about 10 minutes to find a break in the storm and get some decent light for the descent, but the wind did not let up very much. When I found it was my time to drop, I made a large skicut across the top of the chute and was not seeing any signs of cracking, movement, etc. I decided to ride along the spine and about 1/2 way down, I dumped into the main gut of the chute with a big turn. I was white-roomed and was forced to slow down so I didn't catch an edge/topple over, and in doing so, I was knocked from behind by my sluff, but luckily, I was to the side of the main slide pathwas barely touched by the moving snow.
Luckily, no one was injured or involved other than my own mental well-being. We make mistakes, and hopefully learn from them.