Quick report
Today we ascended the middle Tungstar bowl. On the way up we noted some flagging on the ridge top although not in lines we intended to ski. However, we decided to ascend an alternative mellower looking slope. This slope was wind loaded. We did not observe shooting cracks but we did notice a soft 3in slab break fairly easily on what would be our final kick turn. In hindsight, that was a great indication to turn around. A few minutes later I triggered a small D1 wind slab avalanche (4-6 in thick, 30 ft wide) as our party was ascending a N/NW facing slope at around 11600 ft elevation. The slab broke above me and I went for a short ride before self arresting with my ski pole. I was unharmed and retained all of my equipment.
Avalanche
- Size
- D1 R1
- Type
- HS
- Aspect
- NE
- Trigger
- AS
- Elevation
- 11600 ft
I triggered a small D1 wind slab avalanche (4-6 in thick, 30 ft wide) as our party was ascending a N/NW facing slope at around 11600 ft elevation. The slab broke above me and I went for a short ride before self arresting with my ski pole. I was unharmed and retained all of my equipment.