Triple bluff on Murray
Observed Feb 17, 2021, 3:00 p.m. PST · Cariboos
This report was submitted with an older form.
Quick report
- Comment
- Triple reverse wind loading on WNW slopes. Lots of wind loading on ALL other aspects.
- Weather
- Sunny, Cold
- Riding quality
- Good
- Avalanche conditions
- Avalanche condition slab
Avalanche report
- Comment
- Noticed afterwards old cornices on ridge pointing 180 degrees to eachother. Was in this spot 2 weeks ago and dropped cornices onto crust. Slope was loaded from SE, but all evidence pointed to it being windward (current wind, tails on trees, other slopes, newest cornices, etc). Trying to avoid lee slopes, we skiied it and triggered. Slab broke up almost immediately. Partner who was in safe zone came down to meet me in lower safe zone and triggered another size 1 in the trees. Whole aspect was very fragile, but seemed to require a lack of anchors and 40 deg+
- Slab width
- 250
- Trigger type
- Skier
- Wind exposure
- Windward slope
- Avalanche size
- 2.5
- Trigger sub type
- Accidental
- Start zone aspect
- NW
- Vegetation cover
- Open slope
- Start zone incline
- 42
- Avalanche character
- Wind slab
- Crust near weak layer
- Yes
- Number of avalanches
- 2-5
- Start zone elevation
- 1950
- Weak layer crystal type
- Surface hoar and facets
- Start zone elevation band
- Alp
- Avalanche occurrence datetime
- 2021-02-17T15:31:00
Incident report
- Group size
- 2
- Description
- See avalanche report. Skiier triggered slab. 70-100cm deep. surprisingly wide propagation. Reverse wind loaded onto crust + old hoar. Skiier was not caught and wound up on bed at top. Partner in safe zone went through trees to meet up and triggered another small size 1, also was not caught. Size 1 ran ~20m. Size 2.5 ran maybe 509m to a lower 20 deg bench, a little made it over the far side of bench and triggered another size 1.5/2 which went to the bottom of bowl. We got off aspect ASAP.
- Terrain trap
- No trap
- Group activity
- Skiing
- Number injured
- 0
- Number involved
- 0
- Number caught only
- 0
- Number fully buried
- 0
- Snow depth trigger point
- Average
- Terrain shape trigger point
- Planar
- Number partly buried able breathing
- 0