Observation: Hatcher Pass

Noticed a large recent avalanche that I was curious to take a closer look at. Upon riding up to the toe of the avalanche I came upon a machine that had recently been parked. My stomach sank as I realized the probability that we were coming upon a burial was highly likely. Fortunately, the person buried had already been dug out without injury and they had just finished digging out the riders sled. We didn’t interact much with the group, however they did state that the slide was triggered about mid slope. At that point they tried to outrun it and were over taken before pulling their airbag and became buried approximately 3 feet deep. I didn’t gather how long they were buried for but they were wearing a beacon. Had the rider not made it out of the terrain trap, I believe the likely hood of this being fatal would have been very high. A lucky day and very very close call. An unfortunate but sobering reminder that LOW DANGER DOES NOT MEAN NO DANGER. Be mindful of runout zones and always have an exit plan should things go south. I hope the rider/group involved posts a more detailed report so that we may all learn from this.