Triggered on third turn after a ski cut. They were caught, carried, and fully buried. Recovered after 8 minutes.

Advisory from February 7, 2003

Avalanche Conditions:

Yesterday I was thinking that the snow was starting to gain some stability after a scary series of human triggered avalanches this week. Today I am rethinking that idea…. Yesterday there were at least three close calls: A total burial near Twin Lakes Pass, involving a visiting ski patroller; one near the Raymond Glades in the Mill Creek drainage; and one on Gobblers Knob. There were also three slides from backcountry explosive testing, one in Alexander Basin and two in Mineral Fork. All of these slides were large, 60 to a couple of hundred feet wide, breaking into old snow, sometimes to the ground. The Twin Lakes slide released after it was ski cut and the Gobblers slide was remotely triggered after several people had skied the slope. I’ll put details on these slides on the 364-1591 line.

All week the avalanche activity has been quite consistent: Hard slabs breaking up to a foot or more beneath the dirty layer from last Saturday’s west desert dust storm. This is the layer that was on the surface through most of January. Others are breaking in depth hoar near the ground. Most of these slides were in places that had already avalanched previously this season and thus have a relatively thin snowpack. They were all at higher elevations and were on northwest through east facing slopes. Most can be characterized as steep rocky places. There is a lot of conjecture among the local avalanche workers as to just what is going on in the snow pack. It is possible that the combination of the tropical temperatures of a week ago and this week’s arctic cold has produced temperature differences in the snow pack that are contributing to the long lasting instabilities. It is even possible that that in places the snow pack weaknesses are increasing. What we do know for sure is that the avalanche activity is continuing and that these slides are tricky and very dangerous hard slabs breaking two or more feet deep and involving a lot of snow. If you are getting out this weekend carry avalanche rescue gear and use all of your safe travel skills: One at a time on the slope and get out of the way at the bottom.