Front Range
AvalancheAnthony Appezzato · Jan 23, 2016 · Front Range
Weather
Elevation 11890' on a SE aspect. Very Sunny, Few Clouds, Little to No Wind, Air Temp 25-30. Avalanche was triggered aprox 1:30pm
Snowpack
SE Aspect >TL 11890'. Boot Pen test showed 30cm of 4 finger snow. Was unable to complete full pit due to Avalanche
Avalanche
Berthoud Pass - Current Creek Drainage - "Postage Stamp" Upon reaching the objective Skier 1 made the decision to ski ahead to dig a pit between two tree groves to check stability levels, while Skier 2 stayed behind. As skier 1 began to enter the area below Postage Stamp a whomp was herd, followed by multiple whomps as the fracture propagated from Skier 1's location up the slope to the crown a few hundred feet above. The Slide carried Skier 1 Aprox 100ft before coming to a rest. Skier 1 deployed his Avalanche Air Bag which inflated, but was punctured by a tree in the debris field and deflated. Skier 2 arrived to a partially buried Skier 1 with no major injuries. 1 >TL SE HS AR R5 D3 Surface: Ground Average Crown: Aprox 4-6' Maximum Crown: Aprox 8-10' Crown Width: Aprox 800' Maximum Vertical: Aprox 1000'