Date of Observation: 04/14/2022
Zone: Northwest Mountains
Route Description: Standard uptrack to Birthday Bowl (9,000-11,400ft). Descended the northern-most ridge 200 feet and the cut into the main bowl on a ENE aspect.
Observed avalanche activity: Yes
Avalanches: Triggered a sluff on a steep rollover (around 11,000ft) that knocked me over and carried me 400ft down the slope. Only the new snow (20-25cm) slid on a very firm (and dirty) crust. D1 in size but entrained a decent amount of snow with the toe of the debris 100cm at the deepest; 40-50 feet wide at the widest point. Relatively slow moving, but it feels quite fast when you are in it. Bumped into a couple of small trees, but fortunately just some bruises on my right leg. Deployed my airbag (almost didn’t bring it) midway down and came to a rest on top of the debris. Feeling thankful to be (mostly) unharmed and processing the poor decisions that led up to the slide. After not seeing much movement in the uppermost turns (on more northerly aspect) let down my guard when entering the more easterly (and steeper) terrain. I could have anticipated the firmer bed surface and continued managing for sluff by skiing across the terrain. The more easterly snow, while still dry and soft, was a bit heavier than what we had initially encountered at the top of the ridge. Luckily it was just a good lesson learned and a pole and a ski lost today. I will carry the lesson with me and I will find the gear when the snow melts.
Weather: Overcast with light W/SW winds. Temps in the upper 20s to low 30s.
Snowpack:
