Vail & Summit County
AvalancheChris Conway · Jan 26, 2018 · Vail & Summit County
Weather
Very windy above treeline; approx. 60mph gusts all day at the top of Ptarmigan Hill. Wind was loading the aspect that slid, however wind direction was coming from the South, so Avalanche Bowl was getting most of the wind-load.
Snowpack
Was unable to risk getting close enough to the crown to evaluate the snowpack in question; due to the weather and location it was likely a hard wind-slab. Unsure of the composure of the multiple sliding-surface layers. The avalanche stepped down to a deeper layer at a rock outcrop in the center of the slide path.
Avalanche
A group of 3 snowmobilers on rental mountain sleds attempted to summit Ptarmigan Hill up the eastern ridgeline route from Ptarmigan Pass. One of the party members successfully summited Ptarmigan Hill, and turned back around to help another party member who had a sled stuck in a very precarious location roughly 30 feet below the summit. The rider was able to turn the sled around and the rider began descending the eastern ridgeline, however was unable to steer the sled and descended directly down the fall line. My group of 7 were in a field below and out of harms way, we all attempted to direct the rider to his right to avoid dropping into a wind-loaded cornice, however he was completely unable to maneuver the sled. As the rider dropped over the ridgeline into the NE aspect of Ptarmigan Hill, he triggered a large (R3 D2)? slide from the SE flank of the crown. The rider was ejected from his sled and tumbled ~20 feet to a small shelf. The rider was not buried, and his sled was partially buried. Nobody else was in the path of the slide; the rider who triggered the avalanche was the only person caught. Half of my group approached the scene of the accident prepared for a rescue, and discovered that everyone was okay. Not a single member of the rental group had beacons, shovels, or probes, and the rider who caused the slide didn't even know what a beacon is.