Front Range

Avalanche

Anonymous · Apr 9, 2017 · Front Range

Weather

Scattered, windy, blowing snow,

Snowpack

NE aspect at 12k, wind loaded slope lookers right of the Drainpipe chute.

Avalanche

Member 1 began to cross the loaded slope while Member 2 and I stood off the slab behind a large rock wall. Slab was very hard, Member 1 was having trouble getting an edge while skinning across. About 5-10 steps onto slab, the slope broke, fractured approx. 30 meters above him. The slope did not break where we were, but debris fanned out to where we were standing. I turned my skies and rode downhill and away from debris taking eyes off Member 1. Once everything stopped, I located Member 2 who hadn't moved and I immediately went into search mode for Member 1. I traveled approx. 30-40 meters downhill through debris before I found a signal. At approx. 20 meters out, I saw Member 1's head sticking out of the snow and booked it to him. He was fully buried with his face exposed. His airway was clear and he verbally communicated he was ok. I immediately began digging and extracted him within 5 minutes or so. No injuries. It is hard to explain why we crossed a slope that we flagged as a problem earlier in the day. Human factors, poor decision making and planning. We were very lucky things weren't worse.