Holmes West

Group skied edge of slide path along trees one at a time, each successive skier moving slight farther away from the trees. The last skier to come down triggered a slab approximately 1 meter deep and 40 meters wide, on NW aspect at 2000 meters. His spotter was able to move deeper into the trees and avoided being caught. The skier who triggered the avalanche was immediately knocked down and tumbled some distance before deploying airbag, then rode on the surface of the debris approximately 250 meters down the slope. His right shoulder was dislocated, possibly in the struggle to grab the airbag handle, but was otherwise uninjured and was able to ski down.