Avalanche
- Slab Width
- 305 m
- Weak Layer
- Facets
- Trigger Type
- Skier
- Vertical Fall
- 457 m
- Avalanche Type
- Hard Slab
- Slab Thickness
- 183 cm
- Trigger Detail
- Remotely Triggered
- Start Zone Aspect
- Northeast
- Avalanche Problem
- Persistent Weak Layer
- Start Zone Elevation
- 3536 m
My party happened upon this large avalanche (R3 D3) on the NE face of Mount Tukno at about 12:30 p.m. On our way in, we had observed natural activity on other slopes that had likely run during the storm event on Friday, Feb 2, but this debris appeared to be fairly recent so we did a signal search with no results. We could not observe any tracks in, but lighting was poor and part of the starting zone was obscured, so I contacted the commander of the Grand County Winter Rescue Team around 1:30 p.m. and requested a flyover to confirm no one was involved. The avalanche actually occurred in San Juan County, so after receiving the go-ahead from them, he did a flyover with Classic Helicopters. He noted tracks from a solo skier on the opposite side of the ridge and concluded that this person remotely triggered the avalanche. This seems likely considering how fresh the debris was, and how there were no current weather events to cause such an avalanche. The scene was cleared around 3:00 p.m.
Tracks in the photos below are located on the opposite of the ridge where the slide occured. Skier likely triggered the avalanche from the ridge top.