Near Miss: Turnagain

Location: Twin Peaks

Date
Sat, February 3rd, 2018
Activity
Ski
Fatalities
0
Summary
Two skiers triggered large avalanche on ascent. Once caught and self arrested.
Accident Report

Two skiers triggered a large avalanche while skinning up the East Face of Twin Peaks. This was their second lap ascending the route and they were the 9th and 10th people on the skin track. The avalanche was triggered in a very thin area of the snowpack (20” deep) just below the person in the lead. The second person was able to arrest into the bed surface just below the crown. The debris funneled through two separate gullies on either side of the bench below them and ran a total of 2400 vertical feet to the valley bottom. This is considered a near miss due to the size and potential consequences of the avalanche triggered.