Sz1.5 wind slab

Activity

Skiing

Total in the group?

2

People fully buried?

0

People partly buried with normal breathing?

1

People not injured (caught but not buried)?

0

People injured (caught but not buried)?

0

People involved?

1

Terrain shape at trigger point

Planar

Snow depth at trigger point

Deep

Terrain traps

• No obvious terrain trap

On our second lap of north facing terrain, between 1850m and 1725m in the Shovelnose area, I released a wind slab below a cornice. This happened at approximately 10am. I managed to kick my skis off and let go of my poles and started “swimming” to stay on top. I was carried approximately 1/4 the length of the slide before coming to a stop with the remaining snow running below. My legs were in snow to approximately my knees or lower thigh. I managed to recover one ski but not the other and poles and didn’t want to search below the cornice as the day got hot.

The previous tracks in this terrain had produced sluff. In retrospect, the recent snowfall, smooth sliding layer below, potential for wind loading below the cornice and signs of wind slab activity should have been a red flag.