Kututle slide

Map for Mountain Information Network report: Kututle slide

Information

Avalanche date/time
Saturday, March 27, 2021 at 18:00
Estimated occurrence time of avalanche
Less than 12 hours ago
Number of avalanches in this report
1
The size of avalanche
2.5
Slab thickness
30cm
Slab width
100m
Run length
300m
Avalanche Character
  • Wet slab
  • Wind slab
Trigger type
Skier
Trigger subtype
Accidental
Start zone aspect
  • SE
Start zone elevation band
  • Alpine
Start zone elevation
2,300m
Start zone incline
25°
Runout zone elevation
2,150m
Crust near weak layer
Yes
Wind exposure
Lee slope
Vegetation cover
Open slope

Comments

Everything felt very stable all morning, no signs of cracking, whumfing, or naturals so we decided to start moving along this ridge to scope the couloir into kututle. We were two metres below the ridge, transitioning to a boot pack, when we noted the snow on that aspect below us was surprisingly heavy compared to everything we had seen so far in the day. As we dug our boots in to get up the 2 metres to the ridge this slab propagated below us. We bailed on our objective for obvious reasons and straddled the ridge back to safety. We didnt take time to check the details of the slab, but the sun exposure was definitely the primary factor. Please be careful of south facing slopes, we saw no indication of slide potential before this popped, thankfully we were in a good position when it did.