Vail & Summit County
AvalancheAnonymous · Mar 4, 2017 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
bluebird, mid 30s warming with winds picking up after 10 am @ 12,100ft
Snowpack
highly variable in the alpine, touchy wind slab from previous days did not seem reactive. NE was cold powder over somewhat faceted midpack @ 12,100.
Avalanche
Chose a NE elevated fan feature, skied 20-30 turns before stopping at a concerning rollover, tried to gingerly continue when I triggered a persistent slab avalanche, propagating above me all the way to the ridge line, R2, D2 Ran over 500 ft. Crown was 10-20 cm, stepping down deeper lower down the slope. Wind slab was our primary concern at ridge line / start zones. My entry did not seem wind affected or slabby. While I read JKs observation highlighting this problem several times, I failed to use the information and unfortunately we left before 7:45 report that highlighted this problem EXACTLY.