Avalanche Investigation

Observed Feb 19, 2019, 10:00 a.m. PST · lizard-range

This report was submitted with an older form.

Incident report

Group size
5
Description
Accident investigation 2 days after this incident occurred on Feb 17th. The weak layer triggered was a layer of surface hoar buried on January 17th which we have found to be most reactive between 1900-1500m across the bulletin region. It was 55cm deep in our test pit above the fracture line. The avalanche occurred on an east facing slope at 1750m. The avalanche traveled approximately 1km from top to runout with approximately 650m of elevation loss in between. Reports from search and rescue are that one of the two victims caught sustained serious injuries.
Terrain trap
Gully depression
Group activity
Skiing
Number involved
2
Number fully buried
1
Snow depth trigger point
Variable
Terrain shape trigger point
Convex
Number partly buried able breathing
1