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Accident: South Fork Lake Canyon

Observer Name
Anonymous
Observation Date
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Avalanche Date
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Region
Skyline » Huntington Canyon » Left Fork Huntington Canyon » Lake Canyon » South Fork Lake Canyon
Location Name or Route
South Fork of Lake Canyon
Elevation
10,000'
Aspect
North
Trigger
Snowmobiler
Trigger: additional info
Unintentionally Triggered
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Weak Layer
Facets
Depth
18"
Width
600'
Vertical
Unknown
Caught
1
Carried
1
Accident and Rescue Summary
"First rider dropped in and shortly after Person X followed, just as Person X started making his way down the mountain broke right in front of his skis. Shooting about 100 yards in each direction. Luckily for the first rider he was able to run clear of it before it started to pile up. Person X was doing everything he could to stay behind it but his sled started sliding to fast and before he knew it he was caught right in the middle of it. He could feel the up and down wave like motion of the snow as it slid all around him, he then hit the first big wave which launched him fairly high out of the snow, then he came down only to hit the next big wave that launched him into the air endo'ing his sled and knocking him far away from it. Now he was caught up in the slide tumbling down the hill swimming for his life.(at least he thinks he was swimming) He had a million thought going through his head as he tumbled with the slide. But mostly was thinking he needed to stay on top and keep his arms up which he felt was a way to let the others see him. In reality the snow dust cloud was so over whelming that neither of the 2 other riders could see him or his sled. One guy was up top and the other at the bottom. All they could see was a big cloud of snow. To him it felt like he was tumbling and sliding forever catching glimpse of light and then darkness. As the slide started to come to a stop he was facing down hill on his hands and knees. But as he started to slow down he popped up and out of the snow, and was able to pull himself free.(extremely lucky) the snow that settle around him was fairly light and fluffy at first, but with in a minute it has set up like concrete, which made getting the sled dug out really tough. He was 50 yards from his sled and the break line was 18" deep With the size of this slide the out come could of been alot worse. Very lucky to have made it out of it so easily. But he definitely came away with a new found respect of the mountain."
Coordinates