Hector South Skier Triggered

Avalanche date/time

Thursday, December 31, 2020 at 12:00

Number of avalanches in this report

1

The size of avalanche

1.5

Slab thickness

20cm

Slab width

30m

Run length

80m

Avalanche Character

• Wind slab

Trigger type

Skier

Trigger subtype

Accidental

Start zone aspect

• S

Start zone elevation band

• Treeline

Start zone elevation

2,400m

Weak layer crystal type

• Facets

Crust near weak layer

Yes

Wind exposure

No wind exposure

Vegetation cover

Sparse trees or gladed slope

Skier triggered size 1.5 on a south facing pitch off Mount Hector South. We were skiing down at treeline and hit the top of a convex feature when fracture lines appeared and a 20cm slab cut out the slope below. We think it ran on a buried sun (?) or wind crust.

No burials but a good reminder that things can still slide even when the report looks good (2/1/1).