Vail & Summit County

Snowpack

The avalanche took place in West Marvin's area of East Vail. A party of five skiers, skiing Ricks run. The first skier dropped with minimal activity. The second skier made a ski cut then dropped. After several turns along the trees the top layer released above and to the left of the skier. The slab broke across the entire ridge line (approx. 500 ft wide). The crown was 2+ feet and ran to the valley floor (approx. 1,200+ long). The debris mainly consisted of the new snow pack. All five in the party made it down safely. The recent snowfall did not bond well to the existing snow pack and there was a significant amount of natural avalanche activity in the area. Due to poor visibility and unstable snow we didn't stick around for pictures.