Reactive Hard slab on N aspect below East Nai

Map for Mountain Information Network report: Reactive Hard slab on N aspect below East Nai

Information

Avalanche date/time
Tuesday, February 11, 2025 at 23:45
Estimated occurrence time of avalanche
Less than 12 hours ago
Number of avalanches in this report
1
The size of avalanche
1.5
Slab width
20m
Run length
10m
Avalanche Character
  • Persistent slab
  • Wind slab
Trigger type
Skier
Trigger subtype
Accidental
Start zone aspect
  • N
Start zone elevation band
  • Alpine
Start zone elevation
1,500m
Start zone incline
35°
Runout zone elevation
1,500m
Crust near weak layer
Yes
Wind exposure
Down flow
Vegetation cover
Open slope

Comments

First Skier stopped near the bottom of a small concave slope on N aspect, just west of the chute below East Nai. Second skier followed and while joining first skier on concave slope, broke a thin crown over head, we heard a loud crack. Slab travelled down hill only a few meters before stopping due to the uphill swoop at the bottom of the concavity. Interestingly the debris at the bottom of the slab travelled uphill a bit before stopping. Slab was very hard and broke across adjacent features but did not travel far given the concave nature of the terrain. We suspect that the trigger point was a thin part of snow near an ice bulge.