Avalanche, Northwestern San Juan Mountains
- When
- February 21, 12:00 PM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Northwestern San Juan Mountains forecast zone
- Injuries
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Reported by
- State Official
- Coordinates
- 38.210, -107.755 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
On the accident day, the avalanche danger in the area was rated 3/5 - Considerable at all levels, below, near, and above treeline. Avalanche danger was rated on all aspects, with large to very large avalanches likely west through north to east aspects, and small avalanches possible on southwest through southeast aspects. Avalanche discussion indicated that recent avalanches in the area had been large enough to bury, injure, or kill a person, and could be triggered remotely, from a distance or below, and could travel long distances. The accident group consisted of three backcountry tourers, 1 split board rider and 2 skiers, and the intention was to ski a southwest slope from a sub-peak south of Bonita Peak into Minnehaha Basin (37.893, -107.625). Before ascending toward their destination, they stomped on several areas of drifted snow with no reaction. South slopes noted to have shallow snowpack. Rider 1 descended first and made two ski cuts with no reactivity, then started down the slope. A number of turns into Rider 1's descent the avalanche broke and the Rider was caught, tumbling end over end down the rocky path. Rider 1 came to a stop in a standing position at the bottom of the path, buried from the waist down. A second avalanche, triggered by Skier 1 in the hangfire, struck Rider 1 and pushed them further downhill, leaving them in a seated position. Skier 1, who triggered this avalanche, was also caught and carried, bouncing over rocks and left with their legs buried and an injured arm. Rider 1 was able to self-extricate and moved to Skier 1 to extricate them. Skier 2 chose to descend the way they had ascended, and all met and returned to the trailhead. The larger of the two avalanches was rated R2/D2, meaning it was small relative to its path but was large enough to catch, bury, injure, or kill a person. The smaller avalanche was rated R1/D1, meaning it was very small relative to its path and was small enough to be mostly harmless.