Sa sz.2.5 on Shark

Quick report

Kevin R · May 2, 2024 · Spray - KLakes

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Observation photo 1

Quick report

Weather
cloudy, stormy
Ride Type
openTrees
Stayed Away
convexSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
amazing
Snow Conditions
deepPowder
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionSnow

Snow stayed dry today on north aspects above 2000m

Avalanche

Run Length
449
Slab Width
18
Trigger Type
skier
Wind Exposure
noWindExposure
Avalanche Size
2.5
Slab Thickness
75
Trigger Sub Type
accidental
Start Zone Aspect
N
Vegetation Cover
openSlope
Start Zone Incline
37
Avalanche Character
stormSlab
Crust Near Weak Layer
1
Number Of Avalanches
1
Start Zone Elevation
2252
Runout Zone Elevation
2050
Weak Layer Burial Date
2024-04-28
Weak Layer Crystal Type
stormSnow
Start Zone Elevation Band
tln
Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
2024-05-02T18:45:00.000Z

Skier Triggered sz 2.5 avalanche. No Involvement. See details in incident

Incident

Group Size
2
Group Activity
skiing
Number Injured
0
Number Involved
0
Number Caught Only
0
Number Fully Buried
0
Snow Depth Trigger Point
average
Terrain Shape Trigger Point
unsupported
Number Partly Buried Able Breathing
0
Number Partly Buried Impaired Breathing
0

We skied to a ridge crest at treeline, up tracking in the safe trees. Our plan was to ski down the mellow shoulder and back into the trees avoiding a large steep start zone on our left. As we descended the ridge the first skier triggered the avalanche, but stayed high and skied safely into the trees. Profile dug near the slope (N aspect at 2250m) showed 75cm HST overlying a thin crust. Density above crust was mostly F, with 4F at bottom 20cm. Compression test hard RP x2. There was widespread and ongoing loose dry avalanches out of anything steep, but we didn't see any signs of recent slab avalanches. We were right to be conservative and chose a mellow line, however we should have given a wider margin to the start zone. Were back to a winter snowpack!