Incident

Avalanche: Little Pine

EricSalt Lake
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Avalanche

Slab Width
24 m
Weak Layer
Wet grains
Trigger Type
Natural
Avalanche Type
Wet Loose
Start Zone Aspect
South
Avalanche Problem
Wet Snow
Start Zone Elevation
2743 m

My partner and I had finished skiing Little Pine chute today when we realized something had fallen out of a pocket. I skinned back up the bottom section of the chute to see if I could see the missing item while my partner waited below. I was about to transition when I heard an avalanche coming from above and right, from a large forking drainage. I skinned to the side of the gully, but the avalanche had a surprising amount of force and scooped me briefly, knocking me down and forcing me over a large rock. I did have an airbag which I did not get concerned enough to pull, but this was definitely a learning experience about the power of wet slides. My partner and I skied out safely but I did lose my poles. Debris pile was 4' deep.

Incident

Number Carried
1