Kevin Hively

Salt Lake » Little Cottonwood Canyon » Superior

Superior

Unknown

South

Unknown

Skier

Unintentionally Triggered

Wet Loose

Wet Snow

Wet grains

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Hi UAC. I have been following you since the mid ninety's. I read your report daily and get in the backcountry between 4-8 times a year. I often play it safe - waiting for a couple days after the storm, choose slope angles and aspects according to your forecast. Well yesterday I got a big surprise. My route was from Hellgate Condos to Suicide Chute on Superior. I got to the Trail Head at 12:00. I know a late start - but the last time I was in Suicide in the springtime was the 2010 big snow year. Then I needed, but didn't have crampons. Because the conditions in suicide were FIRM. Like barely get your toe into the snow kinda hiking. I had started out early that trip and waited at the top for the snow to soften - which it never did. Well anyrate, this time I had crampons - but needed to do a TH adjustment to my new boots. So that took a little time. Then I organized my stuff - talked to a guest and was on my way skinning. I am not sure what time I left the lot. The skin was pretty straight forward. Just an uphill traverse across a bunch of small trees all bent over till I got on the apron. Then I was switchbacking up to the place I remember as the booter. As I was skinning I saw evidence of past avalanches. The day earlier it seemed - which were all point releases from a skier or a snowboarder traversing above rocky areas. While I was skinning I also was happy with the amount I was pushing down into the snow. I was barely getting through. most of the time I was only into the snow a CM or so. Barely above the thickness of my skis. I did not see roller balls nor was I slogging in damp snow. I made it to the booter and was transitioning from skins to boot. I had just put on my pack and was downing the last of a liter of water when I heard first a rumble. Then I say what was coming around the corner and I high tailed it to the base of a rockband for a safety. It was loud but a slow moving wet slide. Ok I thought - I got lucky and it was time to jet down the apron. I took some pictures and put my skis on and skied down the apron. The debris pile was enough to bury a person. When I got to the road - Kevin Payne - the Alta town marshall was finishing writing up a ticket for another motorist. I skied down to the road and asked him if he saw that. He did. His response was that 2 skiers above the choke kicked of the slide. I am sure they would not been able to see me since I was under a cliff band and not in the chute. He had eyes on me. Watched me ski the apron wand wanted to talk to me. At that point I was just operating on adrenaline still. Thoughts that went through my head were - that was a close call. I almost got snuffed by a natural. That is what I thought at least. I read the report - I pay attention to the conditions - I have turned around before not wanting to risk to much. All the right things. Only until I saw the skiers picking their way through the avy debris that I knew what the trigger was. Well that was a close one. If I had been in the chute leading up to suicide I would not have been quick enough to avoid the slow moving slide. I know I did some things wrong also. Like tending to errands before skiing on Sat. which delayed my start time by a couple of hours. Stopping to take pictures of the Heli buzzing me 3 times as it was ferrying skiers over Superior. Also I transition slowly. Which in this case was a good thing. It prevented me from being exposed in the choke of the chute with all that snow coming down. I was talking to Kevin Payne at 2:00 so the slide must have happened 5-10 minutes earlier. The amount of time to take pictures - put on my skis and ski the apron. Humbly yours Alta Kevin