Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

Taz Feldis · Apr 29, 2024 · Vail & Summit County

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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2

Weather

Windy on ridglines ~20mph. Warm ~30 degrees. Mixed cloud cover.

Snowpack

sticky upper surface, but far from slush in the beginning of the day. Unpenetrable crust about 1-2 feet down.

Avalanche

North east side of Notch Mountain, roughly 40 degree rocky chutes. Skier 1 triggered some small sluff, but nothing unexpected. Skier 2 skied a very similar line, triggered a wet loose avalanche near the top of the slope and was carried down the entire face in the debris. Skier 2 was able to stay afloat and self rescue without injury. Debris did not travel very far in the runout zone, relative to evidence of older slides. Skier 3 was able to safely ski down the bed surface.