Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

A group of 4 backcountry skiers assembled near the start zone of a north facing avalanche chute on the eastern edge of Jacque Ridge. Skier 1 started to descend the fall line of the selected slope. After about 30 seconds skier 1 went over a rollover and was no longer in view. Skier 2 began to descend the slope on a line similar to skier 1. Skier 3 and 4 then heard a shout from skier 1 who was now on the middle 1/3 of the slope. Simultaneously, skier 2 descended past a rollover into the middle 1/3 of the slope and was out of view of skier 3 and 4. Skier 3 said to skier 4 that he would ski a lower angle line around the skiers’ right side of the slope to make sure skier 1 was okay since all they heard was a yell from skier 1. Meanwhile skier 2 was out of view of skier 4, so skier 4 started to descend the slope on a similar line to skier 1 and 2. Skier 2 was continuing her descent in the middle 1/3 of the slope and came into view of skier 1. Skier 1 yelled at skier 2 to ski right to avoid the gut of the slope since he had triggered a small avalanche (which is what he was yelling about earlier) while skiing the middle 1/3 of the slope. Skier 1 had cut hard skiers’ right when he triggered the small slide and was yelling at skier 2 from a lower angle slope far skiers’ right. At about the same time that skier 2 was clearing the slope over to skier 1’s location skier 3 had made his way down to a location 100 feet uphill of skier 1 and 2. Just then skier 3 looked over to the slope that skier 1 and 2 just skied and saw skier 4 being swept down the lower 1/3 of the slope by an avalanche. Skier 4 was riding mostly on top of the flowing snow (her upper body was clearly visible) and skier 3 was able to follow her progression as he traversed towards the avalanche. Skier 4 came to rest on top of the debris on the far right flank of the avalanche as skier 3 arrived. Skier 4 was uninjured, with her skis intact. Her poles were scattered downhill, one 10 feet downhill on the uphill side of a some small spruce trees and the other 50 feet downhill mostly buried on the uphill side of another large spruce tree. When skier 4 triggered the second larger avalanche she yelled avalanche several times, but no one in the party heard her. The avalanche initiated about 10 feet above her and as the avalanche started to gain momentum she tried to ski hard right to escape, but was knocked off her feet. As she initially was swept downhill most of the snow was moving faster then her body and poured over her head in a couple waves completely obscuring her view of the slope below.