Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Feb 8, 2015 · Front Range
Weather
Party cloudy/sunny, ranging from 30-40 degrees, light wind. Aspect was mostly north and slightly east. Elevation at the top was around 11,500 to 11,600.
Snowpack
The snow seemed slightly wind affected at the top. Were we did our testing it was 150 to 165 cm deep. We completed 3 extended column tests. ECTX, ECTP#21, ECTX. The propagation in the second test occurred on a layer around 40cm below the surface and it went Q1 with no energy. We also got a CTM result on that same layer.
Avalanche
We skied the top portion of the line and found a thick area of trees as a safe zone. Skier 1 skied to a lower thick set of trees set on a ridge for a good position to see the skiers. Skier 2 skied the right side of the ridge where skier 1 was posted up. A sluff occurred on a 3 inch wind slab. It was very small. Skier 3 skied just right of Skier 2s line. Then skier 1 dropped down the left side of ridge and stayed to the right side of drainage/path. Then skier 4 went to the left of the ridge and skied left of were Skier 1 went. Skier 4 triggered the slide in an area of wind affected snow that looked full/puffy. It may have been triggered near one of the small trees and then it propagated around 2-3 meters above. Skier 4 then traveled with the avalanche staying above the surface for the most part. Skier 4 was then pinned against a patch of 3 small trees, but above the surface of the snow (He was not injured, just a little banged up). The avalanche was R2-D1.5 [sizes adjusted by CAIC based on photos], it occurred on a wind slab. The crown was anywhere from .5 meters to 1 meter. It looked to be approximately 15m wide and ran for approximately 100m. The terrain varied from approximately 30-37 degrees.