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February 24, 2012 || Volume 2, Number 5 || Free

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A FATALITY IN THE TRESTLE TREES 2012/01/22 Colorado Trestle Trees, Winter Park
Avalanche Details
Published 2012/01/31 by Spencer Logan Forecaster, CAIC (http://tinyurl.com/7p5ljsp)

Accident Summary
We believe Skier 1 followed a traverse into the Trestle Trees. The area had seen some ski traffic, including ski patrollers. Skier 1 cut along low angel terrain below a short, very steep rock outcrop. He probably triggered the avalanche from below. Slight terrain features funneled the majority of the avalanche towards Skier 1. The avalanche caught Skier 1 from the side and behind, and knocked him over. He was fully buried two to three feet deep, face downhill, with one had reaching towards the surface.

Location: Trestle Trees, Winter Park State: Colorado Date: 2012/01/22 Time: Unknown Summary Description: 1 inbounds skier caught, buried, and killed Primary Activity: Inbounds Rider Location Setting: Ski Area open area

Rescue Summary
Skier 1's party notified Winter Park Ski Patrol when he did not return after the lifts closed. Searchers worked through the glade by headlamp. Searchers spotted the avalanche debris and began hasty probing while the rest of the search party converged. One of the searchers uncovered Skier 1's glove while probing.

Avalanche Comments
This was a small avalanche. The starting zone was a rocky outcrop with slope angles between 40 and 60 degrees. The main portion of the avalanche, on the rocky outcrop, was about 40 feet wide. The left (west) side of the avalanche extended for another 40 feet, but ran less than 30 vertical feet. On the flanks, the snow just above the rock was very weak and consisted of large chains of depth hoar. Two recent storms had formed a very soft storm slab in the upper third of the snowpack. In snowpack tests, the columns would first break in the upper portion of the facets, and then fail to the ground as the facets at the ground collapsed. In the surrounding area, investigators found many short shooting cracks, less than 2 meters, and very small collapses.

Comments
This avalanche involved a small terrain trap. The steep rock face transitioned to lower angled slopes. A downed tree below the outcrop funneled a portion of the avalanche towards Skier 1's location. Avalanche debris was able to pile up deeply, for the volume, where he was caught. The avalanche may not have buried Skier 1 if he had been caught in other portions of the debris. Skier 1 may not have been buried, or even triggered the avalanche, if he had been traveling 10 feet further down hill, away from the rocky outcrop. Small avalanches have killed 10 people in Colorado since 1991. Roof avalanches have killed three people, and all ran a shorter vertical distance than the avalanche at Winter Park. Most of the other small avalanches have involved terrain traps, and often a solo traveler or one separated from the rest of the party. A small fatal avalanche occurred a few days before, on January 18 in the backcountry near Snowmass, and ran 30 vertical feet. This was the second avalanche in Colorado since 1991 to kill a skier in clearly open terrain within a ski area boundary. A large wet avalanche killed a skier at Arapahoe Basin on May 30, 2005. Several other fatalities occurred in terrain ski patrol temporarily or permanently closed.

Weather Summary
December and the first half of January were very dry. Below treeline the shallow snowpack completely faceted during this period. On January 17, Winter Park reported 7.5 inches of snow. Another 7 inches fell from January 2022. Strong winds accompanied both storms, but the avalanche site was wind sheltered and the snowpack showed little evidence of wind.

Snowpack Summary
The snowpack below treeline was very thin. Two soft layers of recent storm snow capped welldeveloped facets and depth hoar. Boot penetration was to the ground, and ski penetration was little better.

Events Leading to the Avalanche

Skier 1 left his party midafternoon on January 22. The plan was to meet up for lunch at the car after one run.

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Figure 3: Looking up at the bed surface of the main portion of the avalanche, from near Skier 1's burial point. The brown object in the right of the photo is a root wad from a down tree, which funneled the avalanche towards Skier 1. (Source: CAIC)

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE!

By: Reggie Paulk

The Trestle avalanche is scary because it highlights just how quickly you can put yourself in a dangerous snow situation with little or no warning. If you look at the photo above, you can see that the avalanche was relatively small, and the skier most likely set it off when he traversed into the clearing below the chute. Many people associate avalanche danger with large mountains and steep chutes, but it doesn't take much snow to knock you down, and then you're only six inches tall. If you're pinned by even a small layer of snow, it's curtains. Whether you're skiing in the trees at the ski area as this guy was, or off in the back country, it's imperative to make sure you're aware of your surroundings and the conditions at all times. It's also smart to make sure you're not traveling alone. If this skier was with a companion, he would have had a very good chance of rescue. As it was, he was dead long before a search was even begun. Please educate yourself by visiting the CAIC: "The Colorado Avalanche Information Center (CAIC) is a cashfunded program of the Colorado Geological Survey under the directorship of the State Geologist Vince Matthews. Funding comes from donations, contributions, and the Severance Tax fund. If you would like to help support the CAIC, please visit our Supporters of the CAIC page. The CAIC has 4 offices that issue backcountry avalanche forecasts. The main office is in Boulder, colocated with the National Weather Service. Field offices are located in Breckenridge, Aspen, and the Northern San Juan. Staff at CAICBoulder forecast the weather and avalanche conditions for all zones. Field office forecasters concentrate on the snowpack and avalanche conditions within their zones. The CAIC works closely with the Crested Butte Avalanche Center." (avalanche.state.co.us)

In addition to avalanche forecasting, the CAIC is dedicated to avalanche safety and education. If you visit the 'Education' tab of their website, you will be directed to the Forest Service National Avalanche Center (FSNAC). It's a great place to begin educating yourself about avalanche safety. They have specific education for skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers as well as education for snowmobilers. So what do you do if you find yourself caught in an avalanche? From the FSNAC: "If you are caught... Try to ski or board off the slab by maintaining momentum and angling to edge of the slide. Simultaneously, if you are wearing an Avalung, get it in your mouth. If you get knocked down and you have an Air Bag System, deploy it. Discard poles (never ski in the backcountry with your pole straps on). Hopefully you have releasable bindings and your skis or board come off if they do, roll on to your back with your feet downhill. Swim hard up stream to try to get to the rear of the avalanche. Dig into the bed surface to slow you down and let as much debris as possible go past. Grab a tree if you can FIGHT! As the avalanche slows, try to thrust your hand or some part of your body above the surface and then stick a hand in front of your face to make an air space around your mouth. If completely buried, try to remain calm hopefully your partners have practiced rescue techniques and they will quickly find you."(http://www.fsavalanche.com/)

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Contact the editor: reggie.paulk@gmail.com (303)5527963