Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Apr 22, 2016 · Front Range
Weather
At the time of the slide, the weather was clear, sunny, about 40 degrees and sheltered from the westerly winds by the East-facing aspect
Snowpack
Snowpack appeared firm and consolidated during the ascent of adjacent slope (lower-aspect ramp North of avalanche). At the end of the ascent there was maybe 1"-2" or soft wet snow on top of freeze/melt consolidated snow . However, the terrain around the avalanche was softer snow that was wet and heavy to about 6"-8." There were some natural pinwheels shortly before we triggered the avalanche. The slope at the trigger point was probably 40-50 degrees and had an Easterly aspect that received early sun.
Avalanche
I had just descended past a small convex area and could see the bottom of the face for the first time. My partner was on the convex area above me and skiing also. I was heading right and I saw cracks shooting out from my skis and and the whole slope around me started to move and break up. I continued to traverse to the right, and was able to ski off of the slide before it swept me downhill and over the rocks. My partner was near the top of the initial slab release and was also able to stop on the older snow. The slide ran for about 800' vertical feet and was about 100-150' across. The crown was around 8" deep. It broke as a slab avalanche but had wet snow characteristics toward the bottom.