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Accident: Wilderness Peak Area

Observer Name
Brad Marble
Observation Date
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Avalanche Date
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Region
SE Idaho » Franklin Basin » Gibson Lakes Area » Wilderness Peak Area
Location Name or Route
Wilderness Peak, ID
Elevation
9,200'
Aspect
East
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Snowmobiler
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Hard Slab
Weak Layer
Surface Hoar
Depth
2.5'
Width
250'
Vertical
Unknown
Caught
1
Carried
1
Buried - Partly
1
Accident and Rescue Summary

Snowmobiler caught, carried and buried with left arm sticking out, quickly recovered, ok.

Comments

Brad was riding with an experienced group of 3 riders, all with beacons, shovels, probes, and radio communication. The party entered the backcountry From the Franklin Basin Trailhead.... He was sidehilling a slope on Wilderness Peak above Gibson Lakes, a few mile north of the Idaho State Line, when he triggered the avalanche, which broke mid-slope at his sled. He was knocked off his sled, but remained on top of the moving snow for around 60 yards, until the avalanche went over a small cliff and into a draw. Brad remembers using swimming motions to stay up in the avalanche, and was completely buried, with only his left arm sticking out of the heavy debris when it came to a stop, piling up around an estimated 15 feet deep in the gully bottom.... Brad's two partners quickly located him, as he was attempting to widen the thin air passage his arm had created.. He was trapped in a mostly upright position a few yards below his mostly buried sled..

Coordinates