Quick report
- Cracking
- Observed
Two of us set out to ski Crescent Couloir on Round Top Sunday. There was about 3” of new snow on top of a crust in the parking lot. There were multiple groups starting from the Carson Pass sno park, and one solo skier we talked to by Winnemucca Lake said that he had tried to ski Crescent the day before but coverage on the hanging snowfield was thin so he turned around. There were a couple spots lower down where we observed very small, localized cracks/blocks at our skis, but this stopped once we got on the apron. Once on the apron, there was a foot+ of new snow and ~10 mph winds. We switched to booting and made our way up the lookers left side of the line. Booting through the soft snow was challenging, but not too difficult and we did not observe any instabilities on the bootpack up. There was no wind in the couloir itself or at the top of it, and there was a small amount of new snow falling but not significant amounts accumulating. Despite the report that the hanging snowfield had exposed rocks the day before, the new snow seemed to have covered all that up. I made it to the top of the line around 1:15pm, about the time that my partner was coming back from the summit. We took a break at the top of the line for a few minutes, and then began the descent around 1:30pm My partner descended first, and as he slowly moved out onto the line he triggered a small wind slab which broke at his skis and ran down the hanging snowfield, seemingly on the new/old snow layer. He then decided to make his way back into the couloir proper, and in doing so saw another crack in the snow that was on the shoulder connecting the snowfield and the couloir. Once in the couloir, there weren’t any other signs of instabilities and he slowly made his way down the top section which had a couple rocks. I saw him start to make a couple turns a bit lower down, and then disappear around the bend. A minute later he radioed me to say he was in a safe spot (behind the rock at the split between the Crescent and Hidden couloirs) and I began descending. I intentionally avoided the snow on and around the hanging snowfield after seeing my partner's experience, and stayed in the couloir proper for the top bit. Given the tight quarters, a couple rocks, and the uneven snow surface left behind from my partner I took this part very slowly and just side slipped down it. I eventually made one turn in the couloir and it felt ok, but the inconsistent snow surface and a couple protruding rocks made it challenging to navigate. Slightly lower down, I opted to ski just to the left of my partner's tracks to avoid some thin bits and take advantage of what seemed to be more consistent snow on the skier’s-left slope that was effectively the last spot where someone on the hanging snowfield could cut back in to the couloir (around where the couloir starts bending to the skiers left). I was planning to use that spot to make a turn and then get back into the couloir where it seemed the coverage & snow started improving. I made the turn, then felt my skis hit a rock that had been ~6” below the top of the snow surface. I was already off balance from unexpectedly hitting the rock, and at this point things happened fast enough that it’s tough to be sure exactly what happened. But at some point in the process of turning, hitting the rock, and tipping over some snow around me released and was enough to carry me and then entrain more snow as we went down the couloir. I don’t remember my skis being with me in the slide, I think they ejected and the leashes broke immediately. To start I was moving down feet first, and tried everything I could to arrest but was completely ineffective in doing so. At one point I had tumbled around head first, and was desperately trying to get back around but again was completely unable to affect my trajectory. Eventually I felt myself slowing down, feet first and on top of the snow. I came to a stop part of the way down the apron, and could immediately hear my partner shouting to me and asking if I was ok. It took me a minute to sit up, clear snow from my airway, catch my breath, and respond that I was ok. Partner's point of view: recalls seeing a small amount of sluff come down the couloir, hearing a loud collision with a rock, hearing me yell some combination of “no/f***/ahhh”, and then seeing a ~15ft tall white cloud come down the couloir. He briefly saw me fly by, by his estimates at 30-40 mph, but couldn’t tell what orientation I was in or if the object he saw next to me was a ski or a pole. He immediately put his beacon into search mode, but then was able to see me on top of the snow so put it back into send and skied down to check on me. He recalls hearing me yell/moan as he asked if I was ok (which I don’t actually remember doing, maybe that was when I had some snow in my airway), and then eventually heard me answer. Overall I had no real injuries, which was incredibly lucky. We only managed to find one of my skis, and after looking for a little while were able to exit the area uneventfully. In the process of searching, my partner booted partway back up the couloir and took the attached photo
Avalanche
- Size
- D1.5
- Aspect
- NE
- Trigger
- AS
- Elevation
- 10200 ft
While descending crescent couloir, second skier hit a shallow rock, fell, triggered a D1.5 wind slab that caught and carried the skier through the entire couloir until the apron. Skier was miraculously uninjured and ended on top of the debris, but lost one ski. Additional Notes and takeaways: - The party ascended crescent on the skiers right side, which was more wind sheltered and did not observe any signs of instability. Party found between 1-2 ft of fresh snow in the couloir proper. - On the first turn of the descent, Skier 1 triggered a D1.5 wind slab on the "hanging face" lookers right of crescent couloir proper. The slab broke beneath the skis on the new/old snow interface. - Skier 1 was able to descend the couloir on skiers right without incident, and pulled out at a safe spot (at the fork between crescent and hidden) to radio skier 2 to tell them it was their turn to descend. - Skier 2, about 100 ft into the couloir, made a turn on skiers left (not the hanging face), hit a shallow rock, and tumbled, triggering an avalanche, and was immediately carried. Events occurred too quickly to react. Both skis popped off. - Skier 1 heard the rock hit and roar of the subsequent avalanche. Skier 1 observed a powder cloud around 15-20 ft high and skier 2 fly by at 40mph+ - Skier 2 was miraculously uninjured and landed above the debris. Skier 2 had inhaled soft snow and had difficulty breathing / speaking for a minute. - The group established that Skier 2 was uninjured and did not need rescue. Both proceeded to search the debris for the second ski. - Determining that further avalanches were unlikely, Skier 1 booted back up crescent to look for the second ski and document the avalanche.