Orca Bowl Avalanche

Activity

Skiing

Total in the group?

11

People partly buried with normal breathing?

0

People not injured (caught but not buried)?

2

People injured (caught but not buried)?

2

People involved?

4

Terrain shape at trigger point

Convex

Snow depth at trigger point

Variable

Submitted on behalf of the party involved:

There were two separate avalanche events that contributed to the incident. It started with poor visibility due to a fog/cloud layer which saw us accidentally venture into steeper terrain by accident. One member of our group skied over a small convex roll and triggered a small slab that was only about 20m long. He only slid a few meters. Another member of our group skied over to him to check if he was ok. The rest of us all gathered together nearby to discuss our options, and unfortunately made the mistake of all stopping in an unsafe area on a convex roll. We were just standing there talking when the avalanche released. 4 members of our group were below the fracture line and the rest – including the one initially caught, and the person who went to check on him were safe. At the same time, a third avalanche was triggered sympathetically beside our group. Out of the 4 people caught 2 were able to grab trees right away and keep from being swept away. The other two were swept over a small rock band with the moving snow. One was swept the entire distance of the slide to the bottom of the slope (over 200m), and the other was able to stop halfway down. Both of them lost their skis which were later recovered and sustained minor injuries. They were later flown out by Fernie Search and Rescue. The remaining members of the group skied out.

The avalanches occurred on a northeast aspect and released from shallow rocky snowpack zones which may have been a contributing factor. Slope angle was 30+ degrees, and the fractures were about 40-60cm deep and ran on a crust layer, sometimes right down to the ground. Elevation at the bottom of the slide was 1800m.