Check out our Holiday Auction - Sign Up for the Utah Snow and Avalanche Workshop (USAW)

Avalanche: Park City

Observer Name
Big Dummy
Observation Date
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Avalanche Date
Wednesday, November 9, 2022
Region
Salt Lake » Park City Ridgeline » Park City
Location Name or Route
McConkey's Bowl
Elevation
9,600'
Aspect
Northeast
Slope Angle
Unknown
Trigger
Skier
Avalanche Type
Soft Slab
Avalanche Problem
New Snow
Weak Layer
New Snow/Old Snow Interface
Depth
2'
Width
40'
Vertical
150'
Carried
1
Comments
Either a soft slab or 'just a sluff'
In slow motion I saw snow rippling around me, realized it was sluffing and took a quick peek back and saw either a crown or my ski cut, I'm not sure. Tried to hit the gas but the snow was too deep and too slow. Got caught and briefly laid out, long enough to consciously make a list of several reasons I made a stupid decision (below), but I did a hand check, caught my feet and started skiing out but then quickly darted back over to where the snow ran ahead of me. Visibility sucked and I was mad at myself so I took off without pics.
I feel like an idiot so I'm sharing in case it helps even one person avoid my mistakes.
1. Barely looked at the UAC because I think the forecast was still from yesterday and I didn't even notice
2 Didn't even consider the airbag though I saw some big snow totals
2.5ish Didn't call my buddies even though I knew they would also be out, because sometimes I like being alone
3 Heard bombing all the way up, but I was still looking for something high and steep, 'because the storm was warm and the snow is a bit heavy'
4 Saw clear signs of wind loading
5 Familiarity
6 Time constraint
7 Knew the risk, but was cavalier about my ability to handle it.
Made some calls to snow safety and police to notifiy that I was fine and avoid putting others at risk. Maybe the only good choice I made. Be careful out there, I like a margin of safety and I got too close or crossed it today.
Coordinates