Nadahinni

We sledded into Nadahinni today and our most notable observation was a snowboard-remote triggered slab avalanche. The rider was putting turns in the upper, supported portion of a bench (good form) and remotely triggered a slab avalanche on the east-facing roll of the bench. We looked at the bed surface below the crown and found a layer of large, blocky facets, melt forms and buried surface hoar. While surrounding areas were covered in up to three meters of snow, the height of snow on this roll-over was only 100 cm. While I think the problem is likely isolated to shallow snow areas and specific south-to-east aspects, it does speak to spatial variability and the need to constantly re-assess snow conditions as you travel. The snowboarder picked his line carefully and did not expose himself to significant overhead hazard.