Northern San Juan
AvalancheAnonymous · Jan 2, 2022 · Northern San Juan
Weather
Clear. Sun. Very little wind.
Snowpack
There was no reactivity to snow pack during ascent; no cracking or settling. Hazard was considered high, due to recent heavy snow fall, and wind.
Avalanche
Avalanche began when second skier was descending, first skier had pulled out far right as the possibility of a slide had been discussed. Second skier skied far right into trees, slide remained in main gully and did not spread laterally into the trees. Both skiers re united and skied the edge and lower gully to the bottom. There had been a simultaneous release of a gully on the opposite side of a ridge with shared starting zone. Both gullys ran about 1 thousand feet, well into the run-out zone where the skin trail ascended. The area was checked for a signal (none) and the skin trail below was examined, to determine that no other skiers had ascended after the party which broke trail and set off the slide.