Vail & Summit County

Avalanche

As we were nearing the bottom of the apron we were heading towards a gully with a steeper convexity at the entrance that we didn’t like, so we went right in to some trees, which put us above/on the trigger, which wasn’t as obvious from a distance. My partner entered first, and I skied down to meet him. It was clear as I got to him that just below us was bad news, but with the new snow it was not obvious that we were already in such a thin an touchy spot. My partner had gone just past the trigger point to a flat spot, and when I came through to meet him there it went. He was completely out of harms way and was telling me that he could see me throughout the event. Within seconds of the last of the debris passing me he was next to me before I could even let him know I was fine.