Steamboat & Flat Tops
AvalancheAndrew Radzavich · Jan 24, 2017 · Steamboat & Flat Tops
Weather
A.M. : Partly cloudy, calm wind, light snow, moderate temps. When we arrived at the zone around noon, the wind and snow increased and the temp decreased quickly.
Snowpack
Our base is over 100" and the storm totals are about 18-24" Over previous days we had results on buried surface hoar layer that form in the previous dry spell. The slides today seemed to be running on the same layer. We did observe some cross loading from variations of West wind.
Avalanche
My first cut produced immediate results with propagation 15 to 20 feet out and ran 70-100 feet down slope. The crown was 12-24 inches deep on the buried surface hoar. I was able to clean out the whole area by using similar ski cuts with similar results. After I got everything to go that I could, I instructed the group to ski the bed surface one at a time. Our 8th rider got 1 foot off the trail above the first cut and pulled out a loose slab pocket above him. This pushed him into and against an evergreen tree. He was buried up to his neck. Other group members witnessed this and quickly removed him.