Incident Summary
- Date
- 2018-01-08
- Location
- McDermott Basin, east of Jaffray BC
- Location Description
- South of Fernie
- Province
- BC
- Coordinates
- 49.35642 °, -115.08060 °
- Elevation
- 1750 m
- Activity
- Backcountry Skiing
- Involvement
- 1
- Injury
- 0
- Fatality
- 1
- Description
- Two skiers were caught in an avalanche near the McDermott Cabin 15 km east of Jaffray, BC. One skier was able to prevent himself being buried by the snow by clinging onto a tree but the other was carried down and buried. He was located by his companion but found to be deceased. The survivor was able to report back to the McDermott Cabin where they were staying with a larger party. The fracture line was reported to be 100 cm deep and the avalanche is presumed to have run on the mid-December persistent weak layer. The avalanche was triggered in a slightly steeper, slightly more open part of the slope and propagated upwards into an area that contained moderately dense timber. Slope angle was approximately 33 degrees.
Avalanches
| Date/Time | Size | Type | Trigger | Elevation | Aspect | Slab width | Slab Thickness |
|---|
| 2018-01-08 15:00 | 2.5 | S | S | 1750 m | sw | 300 m | 100 cm |
Weather
| Present Temp | Max Temp | Min Temp | 24hr Trend | Wind Speed | Wind Direction | Sky Condition | Precipitation Type & Intensity |
|---|
| - | - | - | U | U | U | U | NIL |
Snowpack
| Snowpack | 24hr Snow | Storm Snow | Storm Date |
|---|
| - | - | - | - |
Snowpack Comment: Moderate, incremental new snow over several days and recent warm temperatures built slab conditions on top of a buried layer of surface hoar from mid-December.
Documents
No documents available.