Backcountry Skiing
Avalanches in the Early Season: A Cautionary Tale
Peak fever nearly buried three Montana backcountry skiers last year when conditions resembled current snowpack. This is their account.By Jule Banville, 11-18-10
This photo taken 15 minutes before the slide on Granite Peak shows the three skiers in the danger zone.
On Halloween last year, when Montana’s backcountry got a shot of snow that’s beginning to resemble current snowpack, three skiers left Bozeman to hit Granite Peak in the Tobacco Root Mountains. According to a firsthand account at mtavalanche.com, the avalanche center for the Gallatin National Forest, the skiers parked at the snow line “skinned for 45 minutes to reach the base of the Granite peak area.”
“We stopped on a 30-degree slope and dug multiple pits to determine the snow stability. We found the layers to be bonded and stable and we continued on.”
Above the timberline and at the base of the peak, the skiers climbed the south shoulder of Granite to ski the right side of the East Bowl. “We skied the wind-buffed southern side of the East Bowl with no incident and then hit the lower treed section and found good powder turns with no signs of instability.”
“We climbed to the flat area below the peak again and decided to boot up the skiers (on the) left side of the East Bowl to try and summit the peak. Based on the data collected from our snow pits and the successful first line, we felt confident in the stability and continued up the bowl. We were spaced at 20 to 30 feet apart climbing up the same boot pack. When we reached three quarters of the way up the bowl, we stopped to discuss the changing snow pack. We talked about the different feel of the snow pack we were encountering compared to the lower section. We decided to continue up to the exposed talus rocks 30 feet above us and decide our next move from that safe spot.”
Upon reaching the talus, the three regrouped and decided the area of concern they’d just gone through was an isolated pocket of steep terrain. They pushed for the summit.
This photo shows the area where the crown and debris slid.
“When the lead climber was approximately 100 feet from the summit the entire slope whoomped...The slide sounded like a jet engine taking off.”
The hard slab snow caught all three and dragged them over exposed talus for about 300 feet. The entire slide took less than 10 seconds. “Luckily we were stopped by the talus and escaped the 1,000-plus-foot slide that ran out on the flat area below the peak. None of us were buried, however we all sustained massive bruising, scrapes and one skier cracked two ribs. We collectively lost three poles and broke one binding so that one skier had to ski all the way out on just one ski.”
When taking a look back, they saw the debris zone was at least the size of two football fields with lots of loose boulders strewn in the mix. “We also noticed that our first run had descended over a lower section of the slide path.”
So what did these skiers learn about their early-season enthusiasm?
This report, unlike others that will surely be filed this year, did not result in any fatalities. If heading out to the backcountry of the Rocky Mountain West, be informed. Avalanche.org links to every national avalanche center in the country. Each lists current conditions, avalanche forecasts and accident reports for specific regions.
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