Skier triggered Avalanche in Chute 5 at Tumbling NE5

Activité

Ski

Forme du terrain au point de déclenchement

Sans appui aval

Épaisseur de neige au point de déclenchement

Variable

Piège naturel

• Ravin ou dépression
• Arbres

Group of 3 on second lap. Skier 1 rolled into hourglass feature with good momentum and commitment to the line with no issues. Followed too soon by skier 2 just slightly left hit a shallow spot and got settlement that propagated wall to wall. Shallow lower angle trigger point did not move but steeper startzone nearby ripped to ground, 1m plus crown. Very large volume slid on icy ground quickly with immense force and barelled down to impact skier 1 still skiing in the feature and took them off their feet and was ragged dolled for 150m into 6ft high trees on side of main slide path where they were able to grab tree and self arrest. Lost skis and poles, found one ski nearby. No trauma injuries.

Very obvious outcome in hindsight. Many indications were overshadowed by great skiing earlier in the day. Poor judgement was responsible.