Vermilion Peak/Old Kootenay Road

Quick report

Weather

cloudy

Ride Type

mellowSlopes

Stayed Away

alpineSlopes

Riding Quality

amazing

Snow Conditions

powder

Avalanche Conditions

avalancheConditionSlab

Group of 4 went up the south aspect of Vermilion towards Mt. Haffner trail. Lots of dead fall leading to MANY switchbacks on that route. Near the alpine the group traversed west and decided to go down the longer avalanche path. No avalanche concerns were brought up or observed at tree line. The skiing on the path was amazing, lots of powder and fun little kickers. At the end of the day 1 skier in the group triggered a small slide in the trees near highway 93 on the way back to the vehicle. See avalanche tab for details.

Weather

Avg Temp

-10

Wind Speed

windSpeedCalm

Sky Condition

scatteredClouds

Precipitation Type

none

Avalanche

Run Length

30

Slab Width

3

Trigger Type

skier

Wind Exposure

noWindExposure

Avalanche Size

1

Slab Thickness

40

Trigger Sub Type

accidental

Start Zone Aspect

SW

Vegetation Cover

sparseTrees

Avalanche Character

looseDry

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

1400

Weak Layer Burial Date

2021-12-02T15:32:00.000Z

Start Zone Elevation Band

btl

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2021-12-19T13:00:00

This small slide happened between the Old Kootenay road and highway 93 at the base of Vermilion Peak in the trees on a roughly 35 degrees slope. It was triggered when the skier was heading back down to the highway. Shooting cracks were seen right before the break giving just enough time for the skier to escape safely. The break happened about 40cm down on top of the Dec. 02 rain crust and travelled about 30m into the trees. Small in size this slide could of easily dragged and buried a person in a tree well.