Vail & Summit County
AvalancheTyler DeWitt · Mar 25, 2020 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
60% cloud cover, west wind 30 mph, 35F
Snowpack
Loading on northerly aspects
Avalanche
Half way through the first ski cut the new storm snow broke 1” to 6” deep below my edge and up to 1’ deep below the cornice. I yelled avalanche and continued to my safe spot above the cornice on wind buffed slope. It started moving slow and picked up speed after it stepped down 1.5’ deep, 75’ below start zone. It continued into our planned line where it stepped down another 1.5’ to ground layer of loose scree removing a wind lip/ vertical cornice, the small slab above cornice and the larger slab below cornice. I saw the left side of the road was clear of traffic before being covered and my partner saw the right side was clear. We rode one at a time through rocks avoiding hang fire and down climbed sections of rock to the apron and rode out to see SAR, CDOT and the Sheriff waiting for us. Luckily no one was on the road when this happened.