JP Gendron

Salt Lake » Bonanza Flats » Brighton Estates

Brighton Estates

9,300'

East

35°

Skier

Remotely Triggered

Soft Slab

Persistent Weak Layer

Facets

3.5'

40'

100'

1

1

1

Close call today skiing out in the Brighton Estates area. Well aware of the danger, we sought to go for a mellow ski and dig a couple of pits. Widespread collapsing and "whomping" was happening all around us as we ascended through low angle trees. The line we chose to ski is a well protected tree and pillow line, East facing around 9,300'. About 2/3 of the way down (only about a 500ft shot) my partner stopped to the skiers right and remotely triggered a slide from adjacent rocks above. Unable to get out of way she was caught, carried about 20', and partially buried. I was not far away to the skiers left and could see her boot so I went immediately there. She was partially buried near the surface, head up, and uninjured. The slide ripped to the ground on some steep rocks above where she had stopped. Crown was about 3.5'-4', about 40' wide, and slid total of about 100', though most of the debris seemed to stop at the bottom of the cliffs, above where my partner was originally standing. No pictures of the slide were taken in the haste of getting out of there safely.