On Sunday morning, 2 men and 1 woman backcountry skiers climbed the east ridge of Peak 12,085. They were equipped with beacons and shovels. They dug a pit on an east aspect and then skied that slope. They re-climbed the slope and went to a NE-facing slope (Jones Bros 2 avalanche path). Two skied it and were standing in the trees partway down the slope. The third skier started down and triggered a medium to large sized avalanche. A 50-year-old man was carried about 400 feet vertical and swept into a tree, which broke his leg. He was partly buried. A second victim was standing in the slide path and was buried to the neck. The third person, a woman, was off to the side and the slide did not hit her. She helped dig her friend out and then they both tended to their injured friend. The woman then skied to Henderson Mine to use a phone to call for rescue. This triggered avalanche was a SS-AS-3-O, 3 ft deep x 350 ft wide x 600 vertical. It released at 12,000 ft elevation and ran to 11,400 ft. The victim was carried to 11,600 ft and was at the top of the debris, which kept on running through the trees. The aspect was NE. There were very few trees at the start zone, but one observer remarked that the fracture ran from one isolated tree to another.
Williams and Atkins, 1/20/03
(Info from John Wells, Alpine Rescue Team)