Quick report
- Slope Angle
- 40°
Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 53 m
- Trigger Type
- Snowmobiler
- Vertical Fall
- 76 m
- Avalanche Type
- Hard Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 91 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Unintentionally Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- East
- Avalanche Problem
- Wind Slab
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2652 m
These pictures are from Franklin County Highmarker's Facebook post. The exact size and location is approximate, based on the description and photos.
Incident
- Number Caught
- 1
- Number Carried
- 1
- Number Fully Buried
- 1
The party was riding a steep slope on the east side of Midnight Mountain in SE Idaho. The victim rode up the slope, and while making a right-hand turn, the slope broke about 15 feet above him. He attempted to ride out of the slide but was quickly overtaken. He jumped from his snowmobile. He was wearing an airbag, but was unable to deploy it as the trigger was caught under the pack shoulder strap.
The party quickly found the buried victim with his helmet only a couple of inches under the snow. They were able to quickly extract him, and he had no major injuries. It took over 20 minutes of probing to find the buried snowmobile. It was pinned up against trees about 20 feet above where the rider was found and buried about 4 feet deep.