Halcyon slab avalanche
Avalanchedavidmorisette · Feb 17, 2018 · White Pass West
Quick report
- Weather
- windy, sunny
- Ride Type
- sunnySlopes, openTrees, mellowSlopes, denseTrees
- Stayed Away
- convexSlopes, steepSlopes
- Riding Quality
- ok
- Snow Conditions
- windAffected, powder, crusty
- Avalanche Conditions
- avalancheConditionSnow, avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSound
Windy day at whitepass with significant wind transport evident on all exposed ridges and summits, as a result of moderate to strong outflow winds from the North East. Snow is mostly wind affected except in the trees lower down or in sheltered location away from the highway. Stability remain tricky especially at or below treeline. Following a not so successful first part to the day went to Halcyon for a quick and short lap of decent snow in the trees. From our transition point at around 1200 m (on the ridge just before reaching the steeper part) we remote triggered a healthy size 1.5-2 on a steep roll. The avalanche was triggered when the first skied traverse away from our safe zone, with the avalanche releasing above and away from our party (approximately 30-40 m away). The start zone was approximately 40 degrees. Good reminder to choose appropriate safe transition zone, a few meters can make a difference and always consider was is above you. Treeline and below treeline zones are expected to remain tricky for a while in the whitepass area.
Avalanche
- Run Length
- 80
- Slab Width
- 60
- Trigger Type
- skier
- Wind Exposure
- crossLoadedSlope
- Avalanche Size
- 1.5
- Slab Thickness
- 40
- Trigger Sub Type
- remote
- Start Zone Aspect
- SE
- Trigger Distance
- 30
- Vegetation Cover
- sparseTrees
- Start Zone Incline
- 40
- Avalanche Character
- persistentSlab, windSlab
- Crust Near Weak Layer
- 1
- Start Zone Elevation
- 1200
- Runout Zone Elevation
- 1150
- Avalanche Observation
- 12to24hrsAgo
- Weak Layer Crystal Type
- facets
- Start Zone Elevation Band
- tln
- Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
- 2018-02-17T15:30:00
Size 1.5 remote triggered from a steep roll on Halcyon. Slab thickness 40 to 60 cm, 60 m wide crown running for about 80 m long. Skier traverse below and away from start zone when avalanche was triggered. Stopped on a flat bench below the roll.