Avalanche: Turnagain

Location: North side of Cornbiscuit

Date:
Observer:
Route & General Observations

My friend and I were climbing towards Magnum going the southern, more gentle route. We noticed four skiers/boarders (not sure) climbing the ridgeline on cornbiscuit. At about 13:00, one of four started descending down a steep snowfield to the north, and in the shadow, of the ridge. The moment he hit the slope, a huge section of the snowfield fractured and started coming down with quite a rumble in a soft slab avalance. The skier was able to stay above the slide and did not get swept up in it. Once things settled out, he skied down the slide channel and just off to his left of it. Skier then turned left (our right) leaving the valley to meet up with his three friends who had come down the ridge line. There was another witness below us who got a much better look. I took some pictures afterwards.

Avalanche Details
If this is an avalanche observation, click yes below and fill in the form as best as you can. If people were involved, please provide details.
Trigger SkierRemote Trigger0
Avalanche Type Soft SlabAspect Northeast
ElevationunknownSlope Angle 35deg
Crown DepthunknownWidth 100ft
Vertical Run 450ft  
Avalanche Details

see above...

Red Flags
Red flags are simple visual clues that are a sign of potential avalanche danger. Please record any sign of red flags below.
Obvious signs of instability
Recent Avalanches?Yes
Collapsing (Whumphing)?No
Cracking (Shooting cracks)?No
Observer Comments

there were other natural slides in the same area

Weather & Snow Characteristics
Please provide details to help us determine the weather and snowpack during the time this observation took place.
Weather

sunny and clear

Snow surface

overnight powder

Photos & Video
Please upload photos below. Maximum of 5 megabytes per image. Click here for help on resizing images. If you are having trouble uploading please email images separately to staff.