Acrade Slide

Incident

andrew-helton · Feb 26, 2021 · North Monashee

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Observation photo 1Observation photo 2Observation photo 3

Quick report

Weather
warm, windy, sunny
Ride Type
mellowSlopes
Stayed Away
alpineSlopes, steepSlopes
Riding Quality
good
Snow Conditions
deepPowder, windAffected
Avalanche Conditions
avalancheConditionSnow, avalancheConditionSlab, avalancheConditionTemp

Avalanche

Run Length
1
Trigger Type
skier
Wind Exposure
crossLoadedSlope
Avalanche Size
1.5
Trigger Sub Type
accidental
Start Zone Aspect
NW
Vegetation Cover
sparseTrees
Start Zone Incline
35
Avalanche Character
windSlab
Crust Near Weak Layer
1
Number Of Avalanches
1
Start Zone Elevation
1700
Runout Zone Elevation
1650
Weak Layer Burial Date
2021-02-21
Weak Layer Crystal Type
facets
Start Zone Elevation Band
tln
Avalanche Occurrence Datetime
2021-02-22T16:03:00.000Z

Slab was P+ initiated quickly, propagated wide and moved fast, there was also a road that i was buried on that acted as a terrain trap

Incident

Group Size
4
Terrain Trap
slopeTransitionOrBench
Group Activity
skiing
Number Involved
1
Number Fully Buried
1
Snow Depth Trigger Point
average
Terrain Shape Trigger Point
planar

Skiing quality in upper third of slope was amazing, Ski pen. of 75cm low density 100-120kg/m3, as the treeline opened up a hard slab was felt, in trying to get away from it i initiated the slab, (in the middle of the slab) it ran fast and solid, was only able to go straight. When seeing the road, i chose not to pull my air bag and ride it out. but try to jump onto the road to try and get away from the terrain trap. Was about a 10m drop on to the road, wasnt able to keep my feet underneath me. at this point the debris started to pile up around/over my shoulders, crushing me down. I fought as hard as i could with my chest and arm that was free to try and create a pocket of air and some room to breath. After 5-7min (felt like forever) my two friends were on my with their transceivers, i calmed them down and took another 15-20 min to dig me out! very thankful for my friends knowing what to do and i hope more people can learn from my mistakes!!