Matier North West Face

Flaking wind slab and small cracks at 2630M while boot packing at a 45 degree slope was noticed

Wind was steady at 20km/hr with large gusts to 40km/hr at times

Ski objective was to ski the North West face off Matier, approximately 45• near the top. The long boot pack initially showed a solid snow pack with minimal wind loading. Approaching 2630M more loading had occurred and a larger more reactive wind slab was noticed. During the decent the slab was triggered by a ski cut and propagated the entire slope. The skier was forced into the avalanche, completely buried at times, and taken down 150M, until managing to self arrest just above the rock face. Snow accumulated at the bottom of the rock face with an approx depth of 2M. Crown was estimated to be around 20cm. Conditions: sun, high winds gusting from the East, -25C temps.