Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Courtney Linden · May 25, 2020 · Vail & Summit County

View on map

Weather

Sunny with some cloud cover. Overnight freeze. 4-6” new snow. Soft layer on top of hard layer. New layer of snow started to consolidate around 10-11

Snowpack

4-6” new snow over spring freeze layer. Soft, started to thicken and consolidate around 10-11

Avalanche

Avalanche happened around 10:30 am on the head wall heading up towards crystal peak. (The lower steep gully into the drainage) We observed from a south chute on peak 10, east facing aspect, approx 12,500 ft. Observed two skiers ski in. Had an obstructed view but heard others yell “avalanche”. Skinned up our route and was able to get a better view. Apparently one skier was knocked off his skis but recovered. Both skiers were not buried and uninjured and skied away. Looks like the top layer of new snow is what slid. Additionally, a few natural point release roller ball sluffs started to go around 11 am. See pictures. Hopefully they submit a report as well!