Glacier skier accidental Sz 1.5

Avalanche

Run Length

150

Slab Width

50

Trigger Type

skier

Wind Exposure

crossLoadedSlope

Avalanche Size

1.5

Trigger Sub Type

accidental

Start Zone Aspect

SW

Vegetation Cover

openSlope

Avalanche Character

windSlab

Crust Near Weak Layer

1

Number Of Avalanches

1

Start Zone Elevation

1750

Start Zone Elevation Band

alp

Avalanche Occurrence Datetime

2024-01-10T20:30:00.000Z

Skier accidental Sz 1.5 windslab. Skier 1 skied slope from top with no incident. Skier 2 entered slope from top and on 3rd turn initiated avalanche. Tried to ski out skiers left but was faced with a cliff wall and knocked off feet. Was able to stand up and ski out when it stopped. Contemplated pulling airbag but decided not to. No lost gear or injuries. Avalanche initially was small 10cm crown, 3m across however propagated to a deeper part of slope up to 50cm and around cliffs. Winds light out of north. Temp -10. Sky clear. Approach route was up steep south southwest meadows and low angle alpine west through north. 10-20cm ski pen on melt freeze crust. Few small pockets of soft windslab, 10cm deep, 1m across. No evidence of recent slab avalanches. 1 natural loose dry, Sz 1 on south aspect running far. On lower part of the descent through treeline group did notice up to 40cm snow on top of meltfreeze crust on west aspect.