Caribou Creek Avalanche
Incidentacquaminerale · Apr 25, 2022 · Valhalla
Quick report
- Weather
- warm, cloudy, windy
- Ride Type
- alpineSlopes, steepSlopes
- Riding Quality
- good
- Snow Conditions
- crusty, powder
Skier accidental size 3. 4 skiers on slope, 3 skiers caught in avalanche. See incident description for details.
Avalanche
- Run Length
- 900
- Slab Width
- 90
- Trigger Type
- skier
- Wind Exposure
- leeSlope
- Avalanche Size
- 3
- Slab Thickness
- 75
- Trigger Sub Type
- accidental
- Start Zone Aspect
- N, NE
- Vegetation Cover
- openSlope
- Start Zone Incline
- 45
- Avalanche Character
- windSlab, persistentSlab
- Crust Near Weak Layer
- 1
- Number Of Avalanches
- 1
- Start Zone Elevation
- 2365
- Runout Zone Elevation
- 1970
- Avalanche Observation
- moreThan48hrsAgo
- Start Zone Elevation Band
- alp
- Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
- 2022-04-25T18:45:00.000Z
4 skiers on slope, 3 skiers caught in avalanche, see incident description for details
Incident
- Group Size
- 4
- Terrain Trap
- slopeTransitionOrBench
- Group Activity
- skiing
- Number Injured
- 0
- Number Involved
- 3
- Number Caught Only
- 1
- Number Fully Buried
- 0
- Snow Depth Trigger Point
- variable
- Terrain Shape Trigger Point
- planar
- Number Partly Buried Able Breathing
- 2
- Number Partly Buried Impaired Breathing
- 0
Second day of trip. Woke up to cloud cover and grey skies. Previous day was sunny with good stability. 4 skiers went looking for dry north aspect skiing. At 11:45 am skiers were nearing summit. First skier started a boot pack, while remaining 3 skiers waited below with skis and skins on in walk mode when a slab avalanche released. Presuming avalanche was triggered by skier #1's boot pack or weight of the 3 skiers on a buried wind slab. 3 skiers were caught in the avalanche. Skier #2 went for a 260m ride stopping at the first bench on the surface of the snow, partially buried. Skiers #3 and 4 both travelled 430m down slope to the second bench. Skier #3 was knee deep and stayed on surface of the snow during the avalanche, and was able to walk out of the debris as the avalanche slowed. Skier #4 was partially buried, upper body emerged as the avalanche came to a stop. No serious injuries. Crown ranged in depth from 40cm to 110cm. Some large debris (up to 2m x 2m chunks). Start zone elevation: 2365m. North aspect. 90m wide, 900m long.