Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 30 m
- Trigger Type
- Snowboarder
- Vertical Fall
- 91 m
- Avalanche Type
- Soft Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 76 cm
- Start Zone Aspect
- North
- Avalanche Problem
- New Snow
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2865 m
Two snowboarders and myself (also snowboarding) dropped into a north (slightly NE) facing chute in the Mary Chutes zone at Brighton resort.
There had already been many riders through the area we dropped. We each rode down to the bottom of the open bowl and stopped to watch another rider (not in our party) come down.
He came down a different chute that hadn't been ridden yet. As he approached the opening to the bowl we heard a loud whumpf and saw the snow begin to slide. The propagation was roughly 80-100 feet wide and about 2.5 feet in depth.
The rider (not in our party) pulled off riders left and we immediately took off as we saw the slide approaching us. One rider and myself were able to get to safety, while our third friend was swept off his feet and carried around 50 feet down the bowl to where it flattens out.
Luckily no one was buried. Two good reminders came out of this experience: pre-existing tracks don't guarantee stability and familiar resort side/back country zones are not your friend.
Incident
- Number Caught
- 1
- Number Carried
- 1