Avalanche: Little Water

Our party of three summited Little Water Peak at approximately 2:10 PM, approaching from the Mill D trailhead in Big Cottonwood Canyon. While on the summit, two skiers approached Little Water from the east via Park City/The Canyons. After a brief interaction, we learned they were visiting skiers from Argentina (one male and one female).

The pair quickly transitioned, turned on their beacons, and positioned themselves to ski the north aspect of Little Water. There were two ski tracks on Fire Water that appeared to be a day old. After a short conversation in Spanish, the male skier dropped in from the summit. He cut hard left onto what appeared to be a hard wind slab. He traversed a few hundred feet left before making any turns. After 1-2 turns, the slab released.

The skier managed to stay on top of the moving debris, although he nearly fell several times, before exiting the slide near some trees. He eventually fell and briefly lost a ski. We overheard a brief exchange of words in Spanish, mainly asking if he was okay.

The female skier descended to meet him, following the existing tracks on Fire Water while we spotted her from below. After regrouping, the pair quickly disappeared into the trees.