Near Miss: Turnagain

Location: Eddies, South face

Date
Fri, March 16th, 2012
Activity
Ski
Fatalities
0
Summary
Skier triggered avalanche on Eddies, Turnagain Pass. Significant injuries and rescue.
Accident Report

On the evening of March 16th one skier was injured in an avalanche late in the day and required rescue. Little is known about this incident because the CNFAIC
has been unable to contact the skiers involved. We are still seeking further information about this incident from those involved. To the best of our knowledge, (based on information from the Air National Guard rescuers) this avalanche happened on the South face of Eddies ridge (between Eddies and Tincan) in fairly steep terrain. We also know through media reports that the avalanche occurred late in the day after many hours of continuous sun exposure and warm
temperatures. If these details are correct, then the avalanche was most likely caused by weakened wet snow from sun warming and/or a slab that failed on an older buried sun crust. This avalanche occurred less than 48 hours after a significant storm when the sun crust exhibited dangerous remote triggering and wide propagation