Avalanche at Hurricane Ridge

There was a skier-triggered slide on the north side of Maggie's Run at Hurricane Ridge Saturday.

I'm glad you were not hurt, Sean. The third map suggests it was the area between our first and second runs last week: W face? What do you think, Mack, Runcle? N

There was a skier-triggered slide on the north side of Maggie's Run at Hurricane Ridge Saturday.

First I am glad you are ok and thank you for sharing!

Second, Moderate means, 'Heightened avalanche conditions on specific terrain features..'

Looking at the telemetry,Mod to Strong winds out of the S/SE persisted from early on the 27th-29th with consistent averages of 15-20 mph. Also in the forecast:

A report from Klahane Ridge via the NWAC Observations page on Sunday indicated wind loading on the N slopes at 6000 feet....

Detailed Forecast for Saturday:
....
Older wind slabs have had the week to settle and strengthen and will no longer be listed as a specific avalanche problem. Any lingering older wind slabs should be confined to specific steep terrain features above treeline and will continue to stabilize Saturday. Continue to watch for recent wind effects below ridgelines and avoid steep slopes with obvious signs of recent wind loading.

Looking at your video, this looks like a wind slab given its overall depth. They are tricky when strong winds move the slab problem lower down slope. I have triggered wind slabs @Hurricane much further down slope than I expected.

Did you report this to NWAC? Caught and carried still helps the forecasters dial in the avalanche hazard when it is reported. I will be up Friday to have a look around.

Thanks for the input on windslabs at hurricane. I skipped out on going up there with my kids based on the wind forecast just because of the impact to their fun/comfort meter. I will have keep it in mind for my tour planning as well.

I don't want to drag this into the table mtn discussion but a ski cut at the top of the run may not have revealed this one.

Did you report this to NWAC?

It was already on NWAC Jan. 28 when a friend sent it to me b/c we had skied the same slopes 6 days before on January 22 (see TR). I posted it here for the folks who ski HR, but was not there Jan. 28.

I hope to get up there Friday too

Thx Telemack, see you up there!

Yet another sobering reminder, thanks for the report.

WOW...that is significant...way to dodge that one...

FWIW Last Sunday we skied the Klahhane couloir (3" powder on icy crust; some avy debris) and set off a number of wet slides on the south side, skiing back from the saddle to the trailhead: not large enough to bury you but sufficient to do some harm if you're not careful. N