Connaught Ck/ Teddy Bear Avalanche

Skied up Connaught Ck today in mixed unsettled weather. Walking up, the whole valley was full of debris from the previous cycle up to size 3+ from Grizzly (see photo) and the Cheops Paths all ran quite large. Found good snow in 8812 Bowl and Video Peak. Wind was blowing most of the day, we had some wind effected snow, mostly limited to the ridge crest and was not reactive to us, just great skiing. The Mar 18 crust is now down about 1m.

On the ski out, we ran into a party of 3 that had triggered a size 2.5 from higher up on Teddy Bear Trees where the slope steepens and the trees are small and sparse. All three went for a 200m ride while digging a profile, lost all their gear but remained on the surface according to them. They were unharmed for the most part but for a dislocated shoulder. They were able to hike back down to the trail where they were met by Parks Canada. The avalanche ended at the start of the Grizzly fan (see photo) burying the set uptrack. ...a very close call, glad they're ok.