Five snowshoers hiking on Mount Harvey fell to their death when a cornice collapsed close to the summit. The cornice broke away above the steep north west face, plunging almost vertically for approximately 150 m before triggering a size 3 loose wet avalanche on the slope below. The five victims appear to have been swept down with the snow and were discovered buried in the avalanche deposit in the runout zone. The sixth member of the group had become separated from the main group and did not witness the cornice collapse. He met up with another solo hiker and when they discovered evidence of a freshly separated section of cornice deduced the rest of the group must have fallen down the steep NW face. The weather on the day in question was stormy with the freezing level around 900 m.
Avalanches
Date/Time
Size
Type
Trigger
Elevation
Aspect
Slab width
Slab Thickness
2017-04-08 15:43
U
U
U
1652 m
nw
-
-
Weather
Present Temp
Max Temp
Min Temp
24hr Trend
Wind Speed
Wind Direction
Sky Condition
Precipitation Type & Intensity
-
-
-
Steady
S
s
X
S5
Weather Comment: 60 cm new snow fell in previous 48 hours with strong winds from the SSE.