Front Range
AvalancheAnonymous · Oct 5, 2017 · Front Range
Weather
The weather when we started skiing was partly cloudy with ~20 mph winds on the tundra and no noticeable wind on the glacier itself. I did not see any snow drifting onto the glacier, or wind-carved features on the glacier itself. The glacier runs from ~12,200 down to 11,600 and faces SE.
Snowpack
The snow was 6"-36" of dense, warm snow that had not bonded well to the ice on the glacier underneath. The glacier ice itself was slushier than expected. We kicked some snow down the line with a ski pole and it quickly turned into a large rollerball. Once again, 12,200 - 11,600, SE aspect. We noticed some previous slides on the skier's right side of the glacier.
Avalanche
My partner skied first, carefully making one turn a time so the sluff could pass each time. He then linked two turns, and his sluff from the first turn hit him as he made the second turn. He was knocked off his feet and carried for ~15 feet. He was able to regain control and ski out of the slide diagonally. The pile of sluff was ~1 -2 feet tall, and ~5 feet wide. I then skied down, making only one careful turn at a time and was not caught. The slide began around ~150' below the lip.