Accident: Figure 8 Hill

Observer Name
John Zeigle
Observation Date
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Region
Salt Lake » Big Cottonwood Canyon » Brighton Perimeter » Figure 8 Hill
Location Name or Route
figure 8 hill
Elevation
9,700'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
38°
Trigger
Unknown
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Weak Layer
Surface Hoar
Depth
2'
Width
80'
Vertical
Unknown
Caught
1
Carried
1
Buried - Partly
1
Accident and Rescue Summary
From top of Milli lift from Brighton 4 of us skinned out into Milli Bowl past Stupid Chute and up to the top of the bowl. We skied one run and on the second run the first skier dropped in and made 4 turns and just beyond the crest a 2- 2 1/2 foot fracture 80-100 feet wide broke loose. He rode it down almost buried (only head visable) and it came to a stop 100-120 yards down. He was buried up to waist and was able to dig out on own. Overcast, foggy, no wind around 30 degrees. Snow was medium weight powder on top 2 feet and the slope angle was around 35-40 degree where the fracture occured. The debre at the bottom of slide was 3-4 feet deep. The slide let loose slowly--did no hear anything. None No new snow and it did not appear to be much wind loading. I would pass by this line in the future. Your Avalanche forcast for the day describes very much what happend in this incident. I can send photos later if you would like. Also the slide is visible from the top of the Milli lift.
Coordinates