Scott - We witnessed this skier triggered slide on Holy Toledo from the opposite ridge. Slide was triggered from below (you can see the skier's tracks in the photo just to the right of the slide on the upper face of the slope). The skier had enough speed to outrun it and exited the slope to the looker's right. No one caught or carried from what we saw.
Cawley -
Gustafson -
Witnessed this skier triggered avalanche from the intermediate ridge. A party of 4 skiers entered the standard entrance to Holy Toledo with a few ski cuts working towards the center chute. First skier opened it up down the center chute. The next 2 followed with poor safe travel protocol. The 4th skier moved north to the the more open portion of the slope. He waited till his partners were in a safe spot but then skied diagonal across the slope to the spot where his ski track enters the flank. He catches a small air and upon landing the slide releases well above him..He outruns the slide as its momentum slows significantly once it hits the stauchwall . As seen in the picture, the slide stops short of the flats. I was teaching a backcountry clinic at the time , very educational, of what not to do. Of other note , had 2 large collapses in the ivory flakes and Georges. There were an abundant amount of naturals in Georges from the last cycle on mid elevation breakovers .
This afternoon I observed a large, skier triggered avalanche that apparently occurred this afternoon on skier's right, west-facing Holy Toledo. Viewing only from an oblique angle atop Toledo Face, size was difficult to estimate, but the crown looked at least 16" deep all the way across and encompassed roughly half the breadth of the steep, shrubby open slope north of Toledo Saddle. Grass and recently characteristic facet gouging was evident in the bed surface, even from so far away. A solid size 2 debris pile left hefty chunks of hard slab one of my favorite lunch spots, in the flat between Holy Toledo and the Eyebrow.
Although moderate NW winds were transporting enough snow to erase whatever tracks the involved skiers left above the crown, four very fast-looking tracks emerged at the toe of the slide, and a friend skiing on the Eyebrow when the incident occurred suggests the final skier in a party of four trigger the avalanche.
On many upper elevation slopes evidence of recent large natural avalanches is at or near the snow surface with expansive crowns present on most northwest- thru north- thru east-facing slopes, obvious debris piles beneath start zones, and snow-coated tree trunks from big powder blasts and debris flow.
West-facing snow has been under strong solar influence today and yesterday, and I imagine the warmth of this slope contributed to its collapse.
Its nice to see some tracks around these days, although very sad to know not everybody made it home from the mountains this evening.