Avalanche claims skier's life in Wasatch

[boardman]

Apropos of yuckster's comments about the snowpack out west in a neighboring avalanche thread:

http://www.firsttracksonline.com/201...anche-in-utah/

Of note, forecast rating for the Wasatch was High with pockets of Considerable . . .

[boardman]

Incidentally, take a look at the picture in that link, noting where and in what kind of terrain the crown line is, the descent line/terrain, and where the skier's body was found. Wow.

[benwhiteskis]

I was digging pits that day for one of my classes on the opposite side of the canyon. Current conditions are more or less that it's more difficult to trigger something than it was a week ago, but if it does go, it's going to go big. We've got about 60cm of facets and depth hoar underneath 60-100cm (depending on which aspect you're on) of stuff that's been getting more and more compacted.

[Seeker]

Apparently it was someone over on TGR.

[Tommy T]

Originally Posted by benwhiteskis

I was digging pits that day for one of my classes on the opposite side of the canyon. Current conditions are more or less that it's more difficult to trigger something than it was a week ago, but if it does go, it's going to go big. We've got about 60cm of facets and depth hoar underneath 60-100cm (depending on which aspect you're on) of stuff that's been getting more and more compacted.

I was there that day, riding off that ridge in the bowl to the skier's left of that slide.

The trigger point was a grauple pool at the base of a cliff -- a pretty classic danger point.

I've dug some pits up there and it's facets all the way to ground up high in Dutch and McDonald Draws.

Tommy T.

PS: I'm not going to hang around T4T because I no longer have any connection with East Coast skiing and riding, but PM will show up in my email (I've updated my address), if anybody on T4T wants to explore this or wants advice on Western areas. I ride around 100 days a year and I've skied or riden 96 lift served areas in North America and Europe and I've at least tinkered with backcountry in Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming, California, New Mexico and Utah.

[VTColdSmoke]

vibes... always sad to see/hear stories like this...